High quality lanthanide ions doped LuF3 have been successfully prepared via the solvothermal method and using 1-octy1-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (OmimPF6) as fluoride source. In this synthesis procedure, ionic liquids (ILs) OmimPF6 act not only as a reactant but also as a morphology-directing agent. The results indicate that the morphology and size of LuF3:Ln3+ (Ln3+ = Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+) products can be rationally modified by tuning the synthesis temperature, time and using different kinds of solvents. Moreover, the luminescent properties of the products with different morphologies were systematically studied. The photoluminescence (PL) properties of the as-synthesized samples revealed that Eu3+ doped LuF3 nanocrystals with different morphologies present characteristic transition of Eu3+, and their emission intensities strongly depend on morphology and size. The effect of Eu3' doping concentration on PL intensity was also investigated. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.