The High-Energy Milling Preparation and Spectroscopic Characterization of Rare-Earth Ions Doped BaY2F8 Nanoparticles

BaY2F8 nanoparticles (NPs), doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ ions, were successfully produced by high-energy ball-milling. High-quality monoclinic single crystals (sp. gr. C-2/m, a = 0.6969(3), b = 1.0502(1), c = 0.4254(1) nm, beta = 99.676 degrees) grown from the melt by the Bridgman technique were used as raw materials. The prepared nanocrystals were comprehensively studied by X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and optical spectroscopy. The fabrication possibility of single-phase irregular shaped Ba(Y0.964Yb0.030Er0.006)(2)F-8 NPs in the size range of 20-100 nm with a milling duration of 10 h at 600 rpm is demonstrated. Ba(Y0.964Yb0.030Er0.006)(2)F-8 NPs show intense luminescence by both up- (lambda = 540 and 650 nm) and down-conversion (lambda = 1540 nm) mechanisms upon IR excitation (lambda = 980 nm). A qualitative comparison of the spectroscopic characteristics of the produced Ba(Y0.964Yb0.030Er0.006)(2)F-8 NPs with the initial bulk crystal and the widely used up-conversion beta-Na-1.5(Y1.17Yb0.3Er0.03)F-6 NPs is presented. Experimental data offer great opportunities of the Ba(Y0.964Yb0.030Er0.006)(2)F-8 NPs applications in nanophotonics and biotechnology. High-energy ball-milling has potential as a versatile method for the scalable production of fluoride nanoparticles.