The luminescence quenching behavior and energy transfer process in hydrothermally grown Eu3+-doped YVO4 nanophosphors were studied using low temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy. The luminescence efficiency of nanophosphor is dependent on the acidity of its solution media and the post annealing condition after hydrothermal processing. The overall results suggest that the abnormal luminescence behavior of Eu3+-doped nanocrystalline YVO4 under low temperature photoexcitation is due to the incorporated non-radiative hydroxyl groups often encountered in hydrothermal synthesis as well as to the inefficient energy transfer to luminescent ions from vanadate groups.
Keywords: low temperature photoluminescence; nanophosphor; yttrium vanadate.