Synthesis, growth and photoluminescence behaviour of Gd2O2SO4:Eu3+ nanophosphors: the effect of temperature on the structural, morphological and optical properties

Abstract

Gd₂(SO₄)₃·8H₂O, Gd₂O₂SO₄, and Gd₂O₂SO₄:Eu³⁺ nanoparticles have been synthesized in the presence of Gd³⁺ ions and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) by the simple complexation-thermal decomposition (CTD) method. The structural analysis, growth mechanism and optical properties of the Gd₂(SO₄)₃·8H₂O, and Gd₂O₂SO₄ are described by the diffraction pattern, functional group analysis, Raman, morphology, elemental analysis, and absorbance spectra. The most intriguing factor was that the Gd₂O₂SO₄ nanoplates are in the range of 42–50 nm without adding any external stabilizer. The results revealed that the Gd₂O₂SO₄ nanoparticles with an orthorhombic structure have a band gap of 3.12 eV. Furthermore, Gd₂O₂SO₄ shows an intense red photoluminescence associated with the ⁵D₀ → ⁷F₂ transition in the presence of Eu³⁺. The results suggest that the Gd₂O₂SO₄:Eu³⁺ nanophosphors, may have a beneficial approach in the field of biomedical application as luminescent probe/labels.