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In the present work we explored the possibility of obtaining nanocrystalline (Lu0.85Y0.15)(2)SiO5 (LYSO) powders using polymer assisted sol-gel method. The synthesis started from TEOS as alkoxide precursor while polyethylene glycol with average molecular weight of 4000 was used as fuel. The resulting powders were obtained by firing gels in two ways: in conventional furnace and in microwave oven, with further annealing. This modified sol-gel synthetic route enabled production of pure phase LYSO powders at much lower temperatures (1050 degrees C) compared to classical, -solid-state methods (1400 degrees C). Crystallization kinetics are examined using differential thermal analysis, and rather low values of crystallization activation energies (around 12 kJ/mol) were found, revealing good potential of this method for low-temperature production of LYSO powder. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In this work we explored the possibility of obtaining nanocrystalline (Y0.5Lu0.5)(2)O-3 powders, doped with europium and co-doped with praseodium, employing polymer complex solution synthesis. Polyethylene glycol, with average molecular weight 200, served both as a fuel and dispersing medium for nanocrystals formation. We investigated structure, morphology, luminescence emission and decay characteristics of obtained powders and how different concentrations of Pr co-dopant affect theirs optical characteristics. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.