Abstract
Submicron- and nanometer-sized red luminescent particles (Y2O3:Eu3+) were successfully generated by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and the effect of the type of the atomizer, i.e., the ultrasonic nebulizer (UN) and the two-fluid nozzle (TFN) sprayer, on the particle characteristics was investigated. The prepared particles were characterized by field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), an X-ray diffractometry (XRD) analysis and spectrophotometry. UN-FSP produced non aggregated particles with a mean diameter of 754 nm and the relative photoluminescence (PL) intensity (ratio of emission intensity of generated particles to that of commercial particles) varied from 0.36 to 1.01. The Y2O3:Eu3+ particles generated by TFN-FSP were softly agglomerated with a mean diameter of 24 nm and the relative PL intensity ranged from 0.21 to 0.24. Regardless of the type of the atomizer used, the generated particles were dense and spherical in the cubic phase and highly crystalline. These results show that TFN-FSP is a versatile method of producing Y2O3:Eu3+ nanometer-sized particles compared with UN-FSP.
