Synthesis of nanoparticles of La2O3 and Ln3+: La2O3 phosphors by aloe vera gel-assisted precipitation method and study of their photoluminescence properties

Abstract

The demand for nanomaterial is increasing day by day due to their wide ranging applications in many areas of science and technology. This has led to a rapid growth of nanotechnology. In this work, a simple route of synthesis for nanoparticle of La₂O₃ has been attempted. The aloe vera gel-assisted precipitation method was used to synthesize nanoparticle of undoped as well as doped La₂O₃. Four down-conversion compounds 1% Pr³⁺: La₂O₃, 1% Eu³⁺: La₂O₃, 1% Tb³⁺: La₂O₃ and 1% Dy³⁺: La₂O₃ were also synthesized by this technique. The aloe vera gel acts as a biosurfactant that controls the particle’s growth, thus minimizing the particle’s size. The structural, elemental, morphological, optical and photoluminescence characterization was carried out on these samples. The XRD and EDAX analysis reveals that the obtained compounds are in the hexagonal phase with high purity having nanocrystallite size. The optical bandgap and refractive index have been calculated using the UV–visible absorption spectra. The size of synthesized particles was from 48 to 64 nm, with a spherical shape, which was confirmed by SEM analysis.

Graphic abstract