Nanorods and nanoplates of Y(2)O(3):Eu(3+) powders were synthesized through the thermal decomposition of the Y(OH)(3) precursors using a microwave-hydrothermal method in a very short reaction time. These powders were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourrier transform Raman, as well as photoluminescence measurements. Based on these results, these materials presented nanoplates and nanorods morphologies. The broad emission band between 300 and 440 nm ascribed to the photoluminescence of Y(2)O(3) matrix shifts as the procedure used in the microwave-hydrothermal assisted method changes in the Y(2)O(3):Eu(3+) samples. The presence of Eu(3+) and the hydrothermal treatment time are responsible for the band shifts in Y(2)O(3):Eu(3+) powders, since in the pure Y(2)O(3) matrix this behavior was not observed. Y(2)O(3):Eu(3+) powders also show the characteristic Eu(3+) emission lines at 580, 591, 610, 651 and 695 nm, when excited at 393 nm. The most intense band at 610 nm is responsible for the Eu(3+) red emission in these materials, and the Eu(3+) lifetime for this transition presented a slight increase as the time used in the microwave-hydrothermal assisted method increases.
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