Synthesis of Er^sup 3+^ Doped Y^sub 2^O^sub 3^ Nanophosphors

The synthesis and characterization of yttrium hydroxyl carbonate (Y(OH)...) and yttrium nitrate hydroxide hydrate (Y(OH)...) precursor materials as well as ... nanoparticles are reported. The resultant precursor particle size is about 10-12 nm with a narrow size distribution by the enzymatic decomposition method, whereas the particle size was smaller than those acquired by the homogeneous and alkali precipitation methods. The formation of Y(OH)... and Y(OH)... species was also evident from the fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) analysis. Precipitated Y(OH)... precursors have an amorphous nature whereas Y(OH)... O precursors have a crystalline nature, which was manifested from the XRD analysis. Moreover, precipitated Y(OH)... precursors were found in the agglomerated form and Y(OH)... was established in the monodispersed form, as determined from the FE-SEM, TEM and DLS measurements. It was demonstrated that calcination of precursor materials at 900...C eventually removed the inorganic anions from the precursors and consequently produced crystalline ... nanoparticles, which was evident from the XRD and FT-IR analysis. The EDS analysis confirms ... doping in the ... nanoparticles. The morphology and the size of the ... nanoparticles are almost unchanged before and after the calcination. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)