Crystalline hexagonal phase Eu(OH)(3) nanorods were prepared by a hydrothermal method, and cubic phase Eu2O3 nanorods were obtained by a post-annealing treatment, after which their physicochemical properties were fully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) crystallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry/thermogravimetric analysis (DSC/TGA), Raman, FT-IR, UV-vis absorption, photoluminescence imaging, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and a temperature-programmed reduction experiment. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.