Oriented Hexagonal Phase NaGdF₄:Eu³⁺ Films Made through Electrodeposition

Abstract

Hexagonal phase NaGdF4:Eu3+ thin films with (110) preferred orientation were made by electrodeposition onto fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass in an aqueous solution in which N-(2-Hydroxyethyl) ethylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA) acted as a complexing agent coordinating with rare earth ions (RE3+) to form RE3+-HEDTA as precursor. The in situ electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance and cyclic voltammetry methods were applied to study the mechanism and initial process of electrodeposition of NaGdF4:Eu3+ films. The structures and morphologies of films were observed by XRD and SEM and they were varied with applied potential and deposition temperature. As for down conversion property, oriented NaGdF4:Eu3+thin film shows much stronger emission intensity and higher quantum yield than its less-oriented film.