title: Synthesis and characterization of LnPO4 x nH2O (Ln = La, Ce, Gd, Tb, Dy) nanorods and nanowires.
abstract: Aqueous precipitation method has been used to synthesize lanthanide orthophosphates LnPO4 x nH2O (Ln = La, Ce, Gd, Tb, Dy) with high purity and yield. It has been shown by XRD, TGA, and FTIR characterization that the as-synthesized samples are the LnPO4 hydrates (LnPO4 x nH2O) with hexagonal rhabdophane-type structure. The X-ray diffraction peaks and absorption of PO4(3-) groups show a systematic shift from LaPO4 x nH2O to DyPO4 x nH2O due to the effect of lanthanide ionic contraction. The value of n in LnPO4 x nH2O depends on the lanthanide element and synthetic condition. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy observations show the morphology of as-synthesized samples, which consist entirely of nanorods/nanowires with diameters of 30-100 nm and lengths ranging from several hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers. The anisotropic growth of crystals should be responsible for the formation of nanorods/nanowires, which is related to the hexagonal crystal structure.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Weihua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Di
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D028581:Lanthanoid Series Elements / Q000737:chemistry*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010755:Organophosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D028581:Lanthanoid Series Elements; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D010755:Organophosphates