Tracking the local environment of Eu3+ in Eu3+-doped calcium phosphate during hydroxyapatite crystallization and its phase transformation to tricalcium phosphate

We present a study on the crystal structure and luminescence of Eu3+-doped calcium phosphate (Eu-CaP) nanoparticles. The sintering treatment on the pristine Eu-CaP leads to its crystallization into hydroxyapatite (HA) and further to biphasic structure that contains both HA and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). Photoluminescence spectroscopy has been a widely used technique to identify the site occupancy of Eu3+ and its thermal-induced migration...