Cerium-Doped
Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Hollow Shell Phosphors Synthesized via the
Kirkendall Effect
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Abstract
We report, for the first time, the
synthesis of the Y<sub>3</sub>Al<sub>5</sub>O<sub>12</sub>:Ce<sup>3+</sup> hollow phosphor particles with a uniform size distribution
via the Kirkendall effect, characterized by using a combination of <i>in situ</i> X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission
electron microscopy analyses as a function of calcination temperature.
The formation of hollow Y<sub>3</sub>Al<sub>5</sub>O<sub>12</sub>:Ce<sup>3+</sup> particles was revealed to originate from the different diffusivities
of atoms (Al and Y) in a diffusion couple, causing a supersaturation
of lattice vacancies. The optical characterization using photoluminescence
spectroscopy and scanning confocal microscopy clearly showed the evidence
of YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) hollow shells with emission at 545
nm. Another advantage of this methodology is that the size of hollow
shells can be tunable by changing the size of initial nanotemplates
that are spherical aluminum hydroxide nanoparticles. In this study,
we synthesized the hollow shell particles with average diameters of
140 and 600 nm as representatives to show the range of particle sizes.
Because of the unique structural and optical properties, the Y<sub>3</sub>Al<sub>5</sub>O<sub>12</sub>:Ce<sup>3+</sup> hollow shells
can be another alternative to luminescence materials such as quantum
dots and organic dyes, which promote their utilization in various
fields, including optoelectronic and nanobio devices