Synthesis and characterization of Ln2O2SO4 (Ln = Gd, Ho, Dy and Lu) nanoparticles obtained by coprecipitation method and study of their reduction reaction under H2 flow

Abstract

Abstract: We have proposed an optimized homogeneous precipitation method for the synthesis of spherical and well-dispersed pure Ln2O2SO4 (Ln = Gd, Ho, Dy and Lu) nanoparticles (NPs) using synthesized lanthanide sulfates and urea as starting materials. Ln2O2SO4 NPs can be easily transformed to Ln2O2S by reduction under H2 flow at 650 °C for Gd, Dy and Ho whereas the reduction with Lu gave only Lu2O3. Particle size was between 500 nm and 3.5 µm. This reduction method allows to obtain Ln2O2S without using H2S which is highly toxic and uncomfortable gas. Ln2O2SO4/Ln2O2S synthetized can be used for release and oxygen storage or doped with luminescent centers for multimodal medical imaging applications. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]