Synthesis of SmLuO3 and EuLuO3 interlanthanides from hydrothermally-derived nanostructured precursors

Abstract

Phase-pure cubic SmLuO3 and EuLuO3 interlanthanides were synthesized for the first time from nanostructured hydrothermally-derived precursors. LuO(OH), Sm(OH)3 and Eu(OH)3 materials were firstly obtained by hydrothermal synthesis at 250 °C for 24 h. X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopies were employed to investigate the thermal behavior of the mixed systems Sm(OH)3–LuO(OH) and Eu(OH)3–LuO(OH), up to 1600 °C. It was observed that the precursors were converted to lanthanide oxides in the temperature range 800–1200 °C, followed by chemical reactions that allowed the production of a mixture of monoclinic and cubic SmLuO3 or EuLuO3 materials at 1400 °C. Phase-pure cubic (Ia3¯ space group, #206) interlanthanides were produced at 1600 °C, as corroborated by micro-Raman scattering probing the phonon modes, which were determined and assigned. The results showed that both systems could be promising materials for optical applications. Keywords: Interlanthanides, Rare earth, Hydrothermal, Raman spectroscopy, Sesquioxides