Facile Fabrication and Properties of Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ , Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ Nanophosphors and Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ /Silica, Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ /Silica Nanocomposites

Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ and Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ nanophosphors have been successfully fabricated by a combustion method at low temperature (350°C) in a short time (5 min) using natriethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA-Na 2 ) as fuel. The structure, morphology and size of Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ and Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ nanophosphors have been determined by x-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Photoluminescence spectra indicated that the optimum Eu 3+ ion concentrations with the strongest luminescence emission intensities are 5 mol.% for Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ and 7 mol.% for Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ . The nanocomposites of Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ /silica and Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ /silica were fabricated by a sol–gel process with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as matrix material, and the nanocomposite compositions were analyzed by energy dispersion spectra. The strongest luminescence peaks from the 5 D 0 – 7 F 2 transition of the Eu 3+ ion in Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ and Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ nanophosphors are between 613 nm and 615 nm. The Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ and Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ nanophosphors and their silica nanocomposites were studied to elucidate the influences of the Eu 3+ concentration, host materials, annealing temperature, and weight ratio of TEOS and Gd 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ or Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ .