New microarchitectures of (Er,Yb):Lu2O3 nanocrystals embedded in PMMA: synthesis, structural characterization, and luminescent properties

Montserrat Galceran; Maria Cinta Pujol; Joan Josep Carvajal; Xavier Mateos; Pilar Formentín; Josep Pallarès; Lluis Francesc Marsal; Kyung Ho Park; Fabian Rotermund; Kihong Kim; Magdalena Aguiló; Francesc Díaz

doi:10.1186/1556-276X-8-385

New microarchitectures of (Er,Yb):Lu2O3 nanocrystals embedded in PMMA: synthesis, structural characterization, and luminescent properties

Nanoscale Res Lett. 2013 Sep 13;8(1):385. doi: 10.1186/1556-276X-8-385.

Authors

Montserrat Galceran¹, Maria Cinta Pujol, Joan Josep Carvajal, Xavier Mateos, Pilar Formentín, Josep Pallarès, Lluis Francesc Marsal, Kyung Ho Park, Fabian Rotermund, Kihong Kim, Magdalena Aguiló, Francesc Díaz

Affiliation

¹ Física i Cristal lografia de Materials i Nanomaterials (FiCMA-FiCNA)-EMAS, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Campus Sescelades, c/ Marcel lí Domingo, s/n, Tarragona E-43007, Spain. mariacinta.pujol@urv.cat.

Abstract

We report the formation of two-dimensional disordered arrays of poly(methyl)methacrylate (PMMA) microcolumns with embedded single size distribution of Lu0.990Er0.520Yb0.490 nanocrystals, (Er,Yb):Lu2O3, using a disordered porous silicon template. The cubic (Er,Yb):Lu2O3 nanocrystals, which crystallize into the cubic system with Ia3¯ space group, were synthesized using the modified Pechini method. Electronic microscopic techniques were used to study the distribution of the nanocrystals in the PMMA columns. Cathodoluminescence was used to observe the visible luminescence of the particles. Red emission attributed to 4 F9/2 → 4I15/2 erbium transition is predominant in these new composites.