Synthesis and characterization of LnPO 4 · nH 2O (Ln = La, Ce, Gd, Tb, Dy) nanorods and nanowires

Weihua Di, Xiaojun Wang, Haifeng Zhao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aqueous precipitation method has been used to synthesize lanthanide orthophosphates LnPO 4 · nH 2O (Ln = La, Ce, Gd, Tb, Dy) with high purity and yield. It has been shown by XRD, TGA, and FTIR characterization that the as-synthesized samples are the LnPO 4 hydrates (LnPO 4 · nH 2O) with hexagonal rhabdophane-type structure. The X-ray diffraction peaks and absorption of PO 4 3- groups show a systematic shift from LaPO 4 · nH 2O to DyPO 4 · nH 2O due to the effect of lanthanide ionic contraction. The value of n in LnPO 4 · nH 2O depends on the lanthanide element and synthetic condition. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy observations show the morphology of as-synthesized samples, which consist entirely of nanorods/nanowires with diameters of 30-100 nm and lengths ranging from several hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers. The anisotropic growth of crystals should be responsible for the formation of nanorods/nanowires, which is related to the hexagonal crystal structure.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3624-3628
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Volume7
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2007

Keywords

  • Aqueous precipitation
  • Characterization
  • Luminescence
  • Nanomaterials
  • Rare earth

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