Optical investigation of Tb 3+-doped Y 2O 3 nanocrystals prepared by Pechini-type sol-gel process

We report an optical study of Tb3+-doped Y2O3 nanocrystals synthesized by Pechini-type sol-gel method. The particles are investigated in terms of size and morphology by means of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis. It is shown how the simple Pechini method allows for the growth of monocrystalline nanoparticles with a volume-weighted average size of about 30 nm. The optical properties of Tb3+ in the host lattice are studied in terms of PL, PLE, and lifetimes. Moreover, a correlation between the type of decay curves, the emission and excitation bands' shapes, and the site location of the emitting Tb3+ in the host material Y2O3 is proposed.