Structural, luminescence and thermometric properties of LaVO4:Ln3+ nanopowders (Ln = Dy and Sm)

Lanthanide-doped materials have been intensively studied for optical thermometry due to their unique luminescence properties. However, the engineering of high-resolution multimode nanopowders for high-sensitivity thermometry is still a big challenge. Here, we study the structural and luminescence properties of Dy3+- and Sm3+-doped LaVO4 concentration series to find the suitable candidates for possible application as a temperature sensor. The synthesized nanocrystalline phosphors have successfully demonstrated multimode thermal sensing in the wide temperature range based on the temperature-induced red shift of the charge transfer band. The proposed sensing strategies were compared in terms of thermal sensitivity and temperature resolution. The best thermometric performances of Sr = 2.07 % K−1 and ΔT = 0.2 K at room temperature were found for LaVO4:Sm3+ 2 at% sample. The studies testify that Ln3+-doped LaVO4 materials are promising in multimode high-sensitivity optical thermometry.