Microwave-assisted synthesis of CePO 4 nanorod phosphor with violet emission

Abstract

Monoclinic and hexagonal CePO4nanoparticles and nanorods were successfully synthesized from Ce(NO3)3·6H2O and Na3PO4·12H2O solutions at pH 1-5 by a 180 W microwave radiation for 60 min. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD patterns revealed that the products are hexagonal CePO4structures at pH 2-5, and monoclinic CePO4structures at pH 1. SEM characterization shows that these products were nanoparticles, short nanorods, and long nanorods, controlled by the pH of the precursor solutions. Optical properties of the nanorods were also investigated by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. © The Nonferrous Metals Society of China and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.