Microwave-assisted solvothermal preparation and photoluminescence properties of Y2O3:Eu phosphors

Europium doped yttrium oxide phosphors were synthesized by a rapid microwave-assisted solvothermal method. The microwave processing time for synthesizing the precursors of Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ powders was as short as 5 min. After calcination at 600 °C, a well-crystallized pure phase of Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ was obtained. The morphology of the precipitated powders was spherical and composed of nano-sized grains. As the microwave irradiation time was increased, the average particle size of the spherical powders increased, and the crystallinity of heat-treated powders was also enhanced. The synthesized powders retained the spherical morphology after heating treatments. An intense red emission at 611 nm was assigned to the ⁵D₀-⁷F₂ transition of Eu³⁺.