Synthesis of Fluorescent Eu-Doped InVO4 Nanocrystals by Using In(OH)3 Templates with Controlled Morphologies

In this study, In(OH)3 nanocrystals with three morphologies including rods, cubes and spheres were synthesized through a hydrothermal method. The morphology and crystalline were manipulated by controlling the growth speed and the addition of ascorbic acid. The InVO4 nanocrystals were obtained by a process sacrificing In(OH)3 templates. The phase transformation of rods and cubes generated size-controllable products, whereas that of nanospheres formed hollow micro-spheres. InVO4 nanocrystals display a brilliant yellow emission band with the peak at 517 nm. Intriguingly, luminescent rare-earth Eu ions with red emission could be doped into InVO4 nanocrystals during the phase transformation. Excitation and the emission spectra indicated an excitation energy transfer from the vanadate to the rare-earth ions.