Polymorphological LaVO4:Dy3+ phosphors: hydrothermal synthesis and luminescent properties

Tetragonal LaVO4:Dy3+ crystals with novel shapes of rod, rod-bundles and needle-like flower were successfully synthesized via a facile and surfactant-free hydrothermal process. The products were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL).The experimental results showed that the concentration of the precursor and the reaction temperature played important roles in morphological evolution of LaVO4:Dy3+ crystals (NCs). It was found that needle-like flower LaVO4:Dy3+ exhibited the highest B/Y value compared with rod and rod-bundle samples. Possible growth mechanisms of polymorphological LaVO4:Dy3+ crystals were briefly discussed.