Hydrothermal Synthesis of YF_3 Microcrystals with Different Morphologies and Luminescent Properties of Eu~(3+)-Doped YF_3

Hydrothermal approaches were used to synthesize microcrystals with YF3 different morphologies(octahedron or ovals) from the reaction of Y(NO3)3·6H2O and K2SiF6 or KPF6.The chemical composition was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),no peak other than Y and F is observed.X-ray diffraction(XRD) patterns show that all as-prepared YF3 products have the same orthorhombic structure.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) results indicate that the octahedral crystals of YF3 have an edge length about 200 nm and the ovals are self-assembled by small nanocubes.The room temperature luminescent properties of Eu3 +-doped YF3 crystals were also investigated.The possible formation mechanism is discussed.