Inorganic nanophosphors are in high demand for advanced flexible and transparent display devices. [1][2][3][4] Because inorganic nanophosphors do not show any scattering effect in the visible region, transparent luminescent matrices can be fabricated by embedding inorganic nanophosphors on transparent matrices, such as glass and plastics.5-8 However, nanophosphors agglomerate easily. Accordingly, the preparation of monodispersed inorganic nanophosphors is essential for the formation of transparent suspensions.YVO4:Eu is a well-known bright red-emitting phosphor that is used in cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and fluorescent lamps.
9,10Normally, micron-sized YVO 4 :Eu phosphors are prepared by solid state reactions.11-13 Nano-sized YVO4:Eu phosphors have been prepared by sonochemical methods, hydrothermal reactions and polymer complex processing methods.14-19 YVO 4 : Eu thin films have been prepared through various techniques such as pulsed laser deposition (PLD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and electrochemical method. [20][21][22] In general, these techniques need expensive and complicated equipment set-ups, and complicated processing. Colloidal YVO 4 :Eu phosphors can be synthesized and stabilized by sodium hexametaphosphate.
23,24The preparation of colloids makes possible an alternative approach to fabrication of YVO 4 :Eu thin films by dispersion of colloidal YVO 4 :Eu phosphors in polymer matrix. 25 However, there are few reports on the preparation of YVO4:Eu nanophosphors for transparent suspensions. This paper reports a simple synthetic method for YVO 4 :Eu nanophosphors and its transparent suspensions. A simple and room temperature processing method for fabrication of the transparent and flexible YVO4:Eu thin film is also reported. Figure 1 shows the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the as-prepared YVO 4 :Eu nanophosphors. A series of Bragg reflections in the XRD pattern can be indexed perfectly as tetragonal YVO 4 (JCPDS 17-0341, a = 0.7119 nm, c = 0.6289 nm). Since the mole fraction of europium to yttrium is only 0.05, the europium ion is expected to occupy the yttrium sites in YVO4. Moreover, the ionic radius of Eu 3+ (0.095 nm) is slightly larger than that of Y 3+ (0.089 nm), allowing easy insertion into the yttrium site in YVO4. 26 No other peaks were observed in the XRD pattern, indicating that YVO 4 :Eu had been successfully synthesized.