White-light emission and weak antiferromagnetism from cubic rare-earth oxide Eu2O3 electrospun nanostructures

Abstract

The authors report the synthesis of cubic europium oxide (C-Eu₂O₃) nanobelts (NBs) via an electrospinning method with a subsequent one-step calcination approach. Compared with the traditional red emission (612 nm) from the commercial bulk powders, the extended room temperature photoluminescence spectrum (with peaks ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (NIR) at 727 nm) of the Eu₂O₃ NBs was first found to be responsible for the whole visible emission (white light). More excited electronic states were triggered in the Eu₂O₃ NBs. In addition, the synthesized Eu₂O₃ NBs are weakly antiferromagnetic with a Néel temperature ≈46 K, which can be due to the oxygen vacancy-related mechanism.