Doping alkaline-earth: a strategy of stabilizing hexagonal GdF3 at room temperature.

Hexagonal GdF3 is a more efficient phosphor host compared with the traditional orthorhombic form but the hexagonal phase is thermodynamically unstable at room temperature. Herein, we present a strategy to stabilize hexagonal GdF3 by doping with alkaline-earth ions in a mild hydrothermal reaction system. The selection of the dopant, effect of the dopant amount and the mechanism of the phase transition was discussed in detail. The luminescence variation of GdF3:Eu was demonstrated to verify the phase transformation. Furthermore, the upconversion luminescence of the Sr-doped and undoped GdF3:Yb/Er was investigated.