Comparative study of synthesis and characterization of YAG:Yb3+ nanoparticles using different precipitator by co-precipitation method.

Irregular club-shape nanoparticles of Yb3+ doped Y3Al5O12 were synthesized by the co-precipitation method using different precipitator, such as ammonium hydrogen carbonate, hexamethylene tetramine and urea. The reaction mechanism of different precipitator and the effect on the particle size and dispersion of Y3Al5O12:Yb3+ powders were investigated, and the influence of ammonium sulfate as the dispersant in the reaction system was also discussed. The results show that the large and agglomerated Y3Al5O12:Yb3+ powders were obtained from urea compared to that uniform particle size and dispersion one from ammonium hydrogen carbonate and hexamethylene tetramine. Moreover, ammonium sulfate is beneficial to enhance the dispersion of the particles for ammonium hydrogen carbonate and to form the club-shape morphology of Y3Al5O12:Yb3+ crystals for hexamethylene tetramine. The photoluminescence property investigation shows that the near-infrared emission intensity of the powders increased with the calcining temperature as well as the particle size and dispersion of as-prepared particles for all the precipitators.