Nano-sized Y2O3:Eu hollow spheres with enhanced photoluminescence properties

Nano-sized Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ hollow spheres were fabricated via a facile strategy including preparation of the hollow precursor and a later calcination. Moreover, the growth process of these hollow spheres was monitored by time-dependent experiments and their luminescence properties were also intensively studied. The products exhibit strong red emitting at 613 nm under ultraviolet excitation and control experiments were carried out to optimize the synthetic conditions. It was found 850 °C calcination with 9 mol% doping level could give out the best photoluminescence performance. Moreover, a possible mechanism for the enhanced PL performance was also proposed based on the FT-IR investigation.