Citrate mediated synthesis of uniform monazite LnPO(4) (Ln = La, Ce) and Ln:LaPO4 (Ln = Eu, Ce, Ce plus Tb) spheres and their photoluminescence

A simple method for the synthesis of spherical LaPO4 (monazite) particles with narrow size distribution and tailored size in the 150-500 nm range is reported. The procedure is based on a homogeneous precipitation process at low temperature (120 degrees C) from solutions containing La3+, citrate and phosphate ions under a very restrictive set of experimental…