Preparation of LaF3:Eu3+ Based Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Nanostructures via an Ion Exchange Method and Their Strong Luminescence

Abstract

Lanthanide doped inorganic–organic hybrid nanostructures have received much attention in recent years due to their strong luminescence sensitized by organic ligands via an energy transfer route. In this work, an ion exchange method was used to prepare Eu3+ doped LaF3 based inorganic– organic hybrid nanostructures with organic ligands. The undoped LaF3 nanoparticles were first synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and Eu3+ ions were then ion exchanged into these LaF3 nanoparticles to form the Eu3+ doped LaF3 nanoparticles, which were then used to prepare the inorganic–organic hybrid nanostructures with benzoic acid and 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone. As a result of the luminescence sensitization, strong luminescence was observed in these inorganic–organic hybrid nanostructures, and the luminescence enhancement was over 40 times. Dependence of the luminescence of the hybrid nanostructures on the doping concentration and amount of organic ligands was studied in detail, and optimization was conducted to obtain the maximum luminescence for the hybrid nanostructures.