Hydrothermal Synthesis and Spectroscopic Properties of a New Glaserite Material, K3RE(VO4)2 (RE = Sc, Y, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, Lu, or Tm) with Potential Lasing and Optical Properties

A new series of materials of the glaserite family with the general formula K3RE(VO4)2 (RE = Sc, Y, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) have been hydrothermally synthesized using 10 M K2CO3 at 560 °C and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), powder XRD, differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetric analysis (DTA/TGA), energy-dispersion X-ray (EDX), Raman, infrared, and absorption spectroscopy. All the compounds crystallize in the trigonal P3̅m1 space group (No. 164), and their structures contain VO4 tetrahedra, REO6 octahedra, and two different K(1)O10 and K(2)O12 polyhedra. The spectroscopic properties of Nd3+, Yb3+, or Er3+ doped K3RE(VO4)2 (RE = Y or Lu) are also reported, and the results obtained show that these compounds have promising potential as new laser host materials.