Synthesis and luminescence properties of YVO₄: Nd³⁺, Er³⁺ and Tm³⁺ nanoparticles

In this work we report on YVO₄ nanocrystalline powders doped with individual ions Nd³⁺, Er³⁺ and Tm³⁺, and their combination. Modified Pechini method allowed obtaining weakly agglomerated single phase nanoparticles with average size of 50 nm. Luminescence properties of single and triply doped YVO₄ nanoparticles were studied under selective excitation via individual ions and combined excitation via host material. The obtained results demonstrated intra-centers energy transfer processes for the selective excitation, and set of luminescence bands corresponding to all lanthanides under host excitation in the triply doped system.