Novel polyhedron Y_1−x Dy _x VO₄ nanocrystals: hydrothermal synthesis and luminescence properties

Novel polyhedron Y_1−x Dy _x VO₄ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) nanocrystals were synthesized via a hydrothermal route in ethylene glycol–water mixtures at 150 °C for 25 h. The characterizations from X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectra revealed that polyhedron-like Y_1−x Dy _x VO₄ single crystals with size of 20–100 nm were structurally uniform. The as-prepared polyhedron Y_1−x Dy _x VO₄ performed excellent chromaticity and higher ratio of yellow (⁴F_9/2 → ⁶H_13/2) to blue (⁴F_9/2 → ⁶H_15/2) emissions compared with Y_1−x Dy _x VO₄ irregular nanoparticles, which were mainly due to low site symmetry resulting from the crystallite size and crystallization increased. The formation mechanism had been proposed. Crucial influencing factors such as the pH value, reaction temperature, and time on the morphologies of the final products had also been discussed. The newly discovered uniform morphology of the products maybe has good potential in related future applications.