Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/C015290/1
Title:	Solvothermal Chemistry of Luminescent Lanthanide Fluorides
Principal Investigator:	Lightfoot, Professor P
Other Investigators:	Finch, Professor A
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Chemistry
Organisation:	University of St Andrews
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 November 2005	Ends:	31 October 2008	Value (£):	97,218
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
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Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The properties of all inorganic solids are dramatically affected by the way atoms are packed together. Luminescence is a property whereby visible light is given off by a substance, when it is exposed to ultra-violet light or another form of excitation. This property is useful in modern lighting and other devices, such as radiation dosimeters. It is known that many metal fluorides exhibit this property, and that fluorides have specific advantages over other materials, such as oxides. Lanthanide metal fluorides display particularly useful characteristics in this realm. However, the range of known lanthanide fluorides is limited, and there is a need to prepare novel materials of this type, exhibitng different chemical and structural features - ie different crystalline arrangements of atoms, which would be give rise to a wider range of luminescent behaviour. A promising means of achieving this is by hydrothermal synthesis, using organic molecules as 'templates', around which the novel structural arrangements can form. This technique has been well-used in designing novel 'porous' materials as catalysts, for example, but is little explored in designing and producing new fluorides, and in particular potentially active luminescent materials. The aim of this project is to explore the scope for preparing novel lanthanide fluorides by such methods, and to characterise and optimise their luminescence properties.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.st-and.ac.uk