Charge Compensation in Europium-Doped Hafnia Nanoparticles: Solvothermal Synthesis and Colloidal Dispersion

Abstract

Effective charge compensation of europium in hafnium oxide nanoparticles was achieved at low temperature, allowing high doping incorporation (up to 6 at.%) and enhanced luminescence. The efficiency of the incorporation and charge compensation was confirmed by scanning electron microscope energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction measurements. Despite the known polymorphism of hafnium oxide, when doped to a concentration above 3 at.%, only the pure monoclinic phase was observed up to 6 at.% of europium. Furthermore, the low-temperature solvothermal route allowed the direct formation of stable dispersions of the synthesized material over a wide range of concentrations in aqueous media. The dispersions were studied by diffuse light scattering (DLS) to evaluate their quality and by photoluminescence to investigate the incorporation of the dopants into the lattice.