Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/YVO₄:Eu³⁺ multifunctional nanoparticles are successfully synthesized by facile stepwise sol-gel processes. The multifunctional nanoparticles show a spherical shape with narrow size distribution (approximately 40 nm) and the phosphor shells are well crystallized. The Eu³⁺ shows strong photoluminescence (red emission at 619 nm, absorbance at 290 nm) due to an effective energy transfer from the vanadate group to Eu. Core-shell structured multifunctional nanoparticles have superparamagnetic properties at 300 K. Furthermore, the core-shell nanoparticles have a quick response time for the external magnetic field. These results suggest that the photoluminescence and magnetic properties could be easily tuned by either varying the number of coating processes or changing the phosphor elements. The nanoparticles may have potential applications for appropriate fields such as laser systems, optical amplifiers, security systems, and drug delivery materials.

Cost-effective functional phosphor nanoparticles are prepared by introducing low-cost SiO₂ spheres to rareearth phosphor (YVO₄:Eu³⁺, YVO₄:Er³⁺, and YVO₄:Nd³⁺) shells using a sol-gel synthetic method. These functional nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and general photoluminescence spectra. The SiO₂ sphere occupying the interior of the conventional phosphor is advantageous in significantly reducing the cost of expensive rare-earth phosphor nanoparticles. The sol-gel process facilitates the core–shell structure formation; the rare-earth shell phosphor has strong interactions with chelating agents on the surfaces of SiO₂ nanoparticles and thus forms layers of several nanometers in thickness. The photoluminescence wavelength is simply tuned by replacing the active materials of Eu³⁺, Er³⁺, and Nd³⁺. Moreover, the photoluminescent properties of the core–shell nanoparticles can be optimized by manipulating the specific contents of active materials in the phosphors. Our simple approach substitutes low-cost SiO₂ for expensive rare-earth-based phosphor materials to realize cost-effective phosphor nanoparticles for various applications.

Citations

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• Enhanced Energy-Transfer Properties in Core-Shell Photoluminescent Nanoparticles Using Mesoporous SiO₂ Intermediate Layers
  Woo Hyeong Sim, Seyun Kim, Weon Ho Shin, Hyung Mo Jeong
  Korean Journal of Metals and Materials.2020; 58(2): 137.     CrossRef