Silica coated, water dispersible and photoluminescent Y (V,P)O(4):Eu(3+),Bi(3+) nanophosphors.

We propose an approach for silica encapsulation of YV((0.7))P((0.3))O(4):Eu(3+), Bi(3+) nanophosphors through a microemulsion process. The resulting YV((0.7))P((0.3))O(4):Eu(3+), Bi(3+)@SiO(2) core-shell nanophosphors were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, UV/vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDAX), selected area electron diffraction and zeta-potential measurements. The obtained nanocomposites have quite a uniform spherical shape and diameters of about 15 nm. Zeta-potential measurements show that coated particles are stable at high volume fractions and can endure large variations in pH and electrolyte concentration without coalescence. These core-shell nanophosphors could also be used as ultrasensitive biological labels, because they are obtained in nanoscale and well dispersible in water.