Preparation, characterization and optical properties of ZrO2:Er3+, Yb3+ nanomaterials

Luminescent nanomaterials from lanthanide are one of most promising materials for applications in medical diagnostics. In this paper, we present for the first time the ZrO2 nanomaterials with capsule like nanostructure with the sizes of 150 nm in length and 50 nm in width. These nanocapsule like ZrO2 doped with Er3+, Yb3+ ions were prepared by soft template methods. Morphological characterization of nano - ZrO2: Er3+, Yb3+ was performed by using FESEM, X-ray diffraction, micro Raman. Up conversion luminescence and photoluminescence have been also studied with IR-laser excitation at 940 nm and UV excitation at 365 nm.