Facile synthesis and luminescence properties of europium(III)-doped silica nanotubes

Photoluminescent nanomaterials had emerged as an amazing field in a wide range of applications during the past few decades. In this article, fibrous europium tartrates and photoluminescent silica nanotubes were conveniently synthesized by using sol–gel method, in which europium ions entered silica matrix. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, fourier transform infrared spectra, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectra analysis were used to characterize the growth, structure, morphology and optical property of the products. The results indicated that europium tartrates nanofibers as a template can transform tetraethylorthosilicate into silica nanotubes effectively. Meanwhile, europium(III) was transferred from the fibers to the tubes successfully. A hard template mechanism was proposed to explain the formation process of europium(III)-doped silica nanotubes. Moreover, different morphologies of silica-based nanomaterials were obtained due to varying NH4OH addition or stirring time. PL spectra from nanofiber and nanotube show a typical emission of europium(III), and 13 % is the quenching concentration of europium(III) in silica matrix for this system. The novel silica nanotubes can be applied potentially in optical and biological areas.