A novel green emitting NaGdF4:Dy3+,Ho3+ phosphor with tunable photoluminescence

Abstract

Dy³⁺- and/or Ho³⁺-doped NaGdF₄ luminescence nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized using a citric acid-assisted one-step hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The results showed that the synthesized samples were all pure β-NaGdF₄. The obtained samples had several nanoparticles shaped with diameters of ∼170 nm. Moreover, there was an efficient energy transfer from Dy³⁺ to Ho³⁺ ions. In terms of the experimental results and analysis, the occurrence of this energy transfer mechanism was proposed. Moreover, the obtained phosphors could be used as green phosphors; thus, it is clear that these Dy³⁺,Ho³⁺ co-doped β-NaGdF₄ nanomaterials may have potential applications in the field of full-color displays.