Facile one-pot sonochemical synthesis of hydrophilic ultrasmall LaF3:Ce,Tb nanoparticles with green luminescence

Rare earth nanoparticles (RENPs) have great superiority as luminescent materials for broad applications, and a prerequisite for most of their application is to obtain hydrophilic RENPs with efficient luminescence and small diameter (<10 nm). To address this problem, we report a facile one-pot sonochemical route with tetraethylene glycol as the solvent and tetrafluoroborate-based ionic liquid as the fluorine source for the synthesis of LaF3:Ce,Tb as the model of RENPs. LaF3:Ce,Tb nanoparticles with the diameter of about 6 nm were prepared in a very short ultrasound time (10 min). Fourier transform infrared spectrum reveals the presence of tetraethylene glycol ligands on their surface, which confers high solubility of LaF3:Ce,Tb nanoparticles in water. Under 254 nm UV excitation, the aqueous dispersion of LaF3:Ce,Tb nanoparticles exhibits strong green emission with luminescent quantum yield of ∼50%. This work probably contributes to not only the fundamental research of shape-controlled LaF3:Ce,Tb nanoparticles but also new methods of producing other RENPs for broad applications.