Fabrication and properties of highly luminescent materials from Tb(OH)3@SiO2 and Tb(OH)3@SiO2:Eu3+ nanotubes

Luminescent nanomaterials with one-dimensional (1D) structures have attracted much attention due to their unique properties and potential applications in nanophotonics and nanobiophotonics. In this paper, we report a synthesis of terbium - hydroxide - at - silica Tb(OH)(3)@SiO2 and Tb(OH)(3)@SiO2:Eu3+ nanotubes. Terbium - hydroxide tubes were synthesized by soft template method. The size of the tubes can be controlled precisely and have outer diameters ranging from 80 to 120 nm, wall thickness of about 30 nm, and lengths ranging from 300 to 800 nm. To fabricate core/shell materials, the seed growth method is used. FESEM, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra of Tb(OH)(3) and Tb(OH)(3)@SiO2 nanotubes were investigated. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of Tb(OH)(3) under 325 nm excitation consists of four main peaks at 488, 542, 582, and 618 nm. Furthermore, a preliminary suggestion for the mechanism of growth of the Tb(OH)(3) nanotubes using the soft - template synthesis technique has been proposed. The PL intensity from Tb(OH)(3)@SiO2 or Tb(OH)(3)@SiO2: Eu3+ nanotubes is much stronger than that of Tb(OH)(3).