Fabrication and luminescence of YF₃:Tb³⁺ hollow nanofibers

YF₃:Tb³⁺ hollow nanofibers were successfully fabricated via fluorination of the relevant Y₂O₃:Tb³⁺ hollow nanofibers which were obtained by calcining the electrospun PVP/[Y(NO₃)₃ + Tb(NO₃)₃] composite nanofibers. The morphology and properties of the products were investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and fluorescence spectrometer. YF₃:Tb³⁺ hollow nanofibers were pure orthorhombic phase with space group Pnma and were hollow-centered structure with the mean diameter of 148 ± 23 nm. Fluorescence emission peaks of Tb³⁺ in the YF₃:Tb³⁺ hollow nanofibers were observed and assigned to the energy levels transitions of ⁵D₄ → ⁷F_J (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) (490, 543, 588, and 620 nm) of Tb³⁺ ions, and the ⁵D₄ → ⁷F₅ hypersensitive transition at 543 nm was the dominant emission peak. Moreover, the emitting colors of YF₃:Tb³⁺ hollow nanofibers were located in the green region in CIE chromaticity coordinates diagram. The luminescent intensity of YF₃:Tb³⁺ hollow nanofibers was increased remarkably with the increasing doping concentration of Tb³⁺ ions and reached a maximum at 7 mol% of Tb³⁺. The possible formation mechanism of YF₃:Tb³⁺ hollow nanofibers was also discussed. This preparation technique could be applied to prepare other rare earth fluoride hollow nanofibers.