Sol-Gel Template Synthesis and Characterization of Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ Nanowire Arrays

Uniform Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ nanowire arrays were successfully prepared by the sol-gel process using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. The as-synthesized nanowires are homogeneous, highly ordered, and dense and have a uniform diameter of ~300 nm defined by the AAO templates. The X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction results show that the Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ nanowires have a polycrystalline cubic structure, and the crystallite size of the Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ nanowires is confined by the AAO template. The nanowires within the AAO template showed good photoluminescence and X-ray-excited optical luminescence performances for Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺. The emission peaks were attributed to the ⁵D₀ → ⁷F_J transitions of Eu³⁺ (J = 0, 1, 2, 3).