Morphology Characterization and Optical Properties Analysis for Nanostructured Lanthanum Hexaboride Powders

Nanostructured Lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). The average size of LaB6 nanoparticles is about 35nm, which are well crystallized with ball or ellipsoid with inconspicuous corners and covered by a 3-5nm thick amorphous layer containing oxygen and carbon. The absorption of LaB6 nanoparticles in visible and near infrared spectrum (NIR) was measured and compared with micron scale particles. The surface plasmon responance (SPR) of nanoparticles was very efficient at NIR blocking, which almost covered the whole NIR region. The influence of nanoparticles concentration on spectrum absorption was comparatively evident. Meanwhile, micron particles almost haven’t NIR blocking function.