Comparison of Eu(NO3)3 and Eu(acac)3 precursors for doping luminescent silica nanoparticles

In this study, we report the comparison between Eu3+-doped silica nanoparticles synthesized by Stöber method using Eu(NO3)3 or Eu(acac)3 as precursors. The impact of different europium species on the properties of the final silica nanospheres is investigated in details in terms of size, morphology, reachable doping amount, and luminescence efficiency. Moreover, the results obtained for different thermal treatments are presented and discussed. It is shown that the organic complex modify the silica growing process, leading to bigger and irregular nanoparticles (500–800 nm) with respect to the perfectly spherical ones (400 nm) obtained by the nitrate salt, but their luminescence intensity and lifetime is significantly higher when 800–900 °C annealing is performed.