Samarium-Activated La₂Hf₂O₇ Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Phosphors

Recent developments in the field of designing novel nanostructures with various functionalities have pushed the scientific world to design and develop high-quality nanomaterials with multifunctional applications. Here, we propose a new kind of doped metal oxide pyrochlore nanostructure for solid-state phosphor, X-ray scintillator, and optical thermometry. The developed samarium-activated La₂Hf₂O₇ (LHOS) nanoparticles (NPs) emit a narrow and stable red emission with lower color temperature and adequate critical distance under near-UV and X-ray excitations. When the LHOS NPs are exposed to an energetic X-ray beam, the Sm³⁺ ions situated at the symmetric environment get excited along with those located at the asymmetric environment, which results in a low asymmetry ratio of Sm³⁺ under radioluminescence compared to photoluminescence. High activation energy and adequate thermal sensitivity of the LHOS NPs highlight their potential as a thermal sensor. Our results indicate that these Sm³⁺-activated La₂Hf₂O₇ NPs can serve as a multifunctional UV, X-ray, and thermographic phosphor.