Size, structure, and luminescence of Nd2Zr2O7 nanoparticles by molten salt synthesis

Jose P. Zuniga, Santosh K. Gupta, Maya Abdou, Héctor A. De Santiago, Alexander A. Puretzky, Melonie P. Thomas, Beth S. Guiton, Jue Liu, Yuanbing Mao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Pyrochlore materials with novel properties are in demand with multifunctional applications such as optoelectronics, scintillator materials, and theranostics. Many reports have already indicated the importance of the synthesis technique for Nd2Zr2O7 (NZO) nanoparticles (NPs); however, no explanation has been provided for the reason behind the nature of its phase selectivity. Here, we have explored the structural and optical properties of the NZO NPs synthesized by a molten salt synthesis method. We have synthesized size-tunable NZO NPs and correlated the particle size with their structural behavior and optical performance. All NZO NPs are stabilized in defect fluorite phase. Neutron diffraction provided insight on the behavior of oxygen in the presence of heavy atoms. We have collected bright amalgam of blue and green emission on UV irradiation due to the presence of oxygen vacancies from these NPs. We have carried out in situ XRD and Raman investigations to observe the temperature-induced phase transformation in a controlled argon environment. Interestingly, we have not observed phase change for the molten salt synthesized fluorite NZO NPs; however, we observed phase transformation from a precursor stage to pyrochlore phase by in situ XRD directly. These observations provide a new strategy to synthesize nanomaterials phase-selectively for a variety of applications in materials science.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)12411-12423
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Materials Science
Volume54
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

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