Facile synthesis of hollow microspherical YPO4: Eu3+/Tb3+ using polystyrene spheres as sacrificial template and its photoluminescent properties

Monodisperse hollow microspherical YPO4:Ln3+ (Ln3+ = Eu3+/Tb3+) with diameters of around 2.5 µm have been successfully synthesised by combining a convenient homogeneous precipitation method, an ion exchange method, and a calcination process for the first time. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectra were used to characterise the samples. Upon ultraviolet excitation, Eu3+- and Tb3+-doped microspherical YPO4 showed typical red and green emission, respectively, which provide potential applications in bioanalysis, future colour displays, light-emitting devices, and so on.