Soft-Templated Room Temperature Fabrication of Nanoscale Lanthanum Phosphate: Synthesis, Photoluminescence, and Energy-Transfer Behavior

Abstract

We herein report a simple and effective soft template mediated synthesis protocol for the room temperature preparation of highly crystalline cerium (Ce 3+ ) and terbium (Tb 3+ ) doped lanthanum phosphate (LaPO 4 ) nanorods (NRs) and nanoflowers. Anionic surfactant sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT)/n-alkane soft template was chosen since it forms stable reverse micelles (RMs). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis corroborated successful formation of LaPO 4 :Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ NRs having different aspect ratios (ranging from 2.8:1 to 7.6:1) under varying reaction conditions. The crystalline nature of the nanomaterials (NMs) was ascertained by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and small-area electron diffraction (SAED) studies. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy further verified the elemental existence of the desirably synthesized nanostructures. Experimental results from thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) revealed thermal stability of the NRs up to 800 °C. The prepared NRs exhibit strong yellowish-green photoluminescence (PL) at 544 nm ( 5 D 4 → 7 F 5 ) when excited at 270 nm. Furthermore, timeresolved decay analysis along with steady-state PL measurements indicated an efficient energy transfer (ET) phenomenon between Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ ions doped in LaPO 4 (LAP) host matrix.

p-Aminobenzoic acid (pABA) sensitization of LaF3:Tb3+ nanoparticles and its applications in the detection of explosive materials

“…In case of sensitised photoluminescence it is well established that life time of the sensitizer gradually decreases with the increase in the activator concentration. 61,62 In the present case life time of Tb 3+ ion reduces with increase in the aromatic analyte concentration due to transfer of energy from the excited pABA molecule to the analyte molecules.…”

Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis of cerium phosphates and their adsorption on uranium(VI)

“…In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to rare earth phosphates because of their applications in novel functional materials, such as fluorescence materials [1,2], proton conductors [3][4][5][6], catalysts [7][8][9][10], magnetic cooling material [11], sunscreen materials [12][13][14], negative thermal expansion materials [15,16], and efficient adsorbents for radwaste [17][18][19]. Several phosphates such as Zr 2 O(PO 4 ) 2 , ZrP 2 O 7 and Th 4 (PO 4 ) 4 P 2 O 7 have been studied as potential substitutes for immobilization and long-term storage of uranium [18].…”

Green synthesis of biomimetic CePO4:Tb nanostructures using the simplest morphology control

“…21 A so-template assisted microemulsion system was also developed by Chall and coworkers. 59 In the above-mentioned methods structure directing agents, templates or tedious procedures were necessary to yield the proper structure and this could limit their utility in large scale nanostructure production.…”