Luminescent Properties of Caf2: Eu2+ Nanoscintillators Synthesized Via Hydrothermal

Inorganic nanoscintillators exhibit a promising innovation for the detection of tritiated water with highly biotoxicity. In this work, CaF2: Eu2+ nanoscintillators were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The phase composition, microstruture, elemental constituent and luminescent properties of samples have been characterized by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and FS. The results show that the nanopowders have a monophasic cubic structure. The nearly spherical particles are well dispersive with uniform size, and the average size of particles is about 30 nm. The coexistence of Eu2+ and Eu3+ ions in samples are confirmed by XPS, which can acquire the relative proportions of elements. The samples all have a conspicuous emission peak at 425 nm under the UV excitation of 339 nm. Regulating the Eu content is beneficial to realize the multi-colored luminescence of CaF2: Eu2+. The optimal luminous intensity is attained in 1% sample. Combined with the response to tritrated water detection, the CaF2: Eu2+ nanoscintillators are expected to achieve efficient detection of tritiated water.