Sol–gel synthesis, structure and photoluminescence properties of nanocrystalline Lu2MoO6:Eu

Highlights: {yields} Monoclinic-structural Lu{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} has strong absorption of near-UV light. {yields} The absorbed energy can be transferred from MoO{sub 5} groups to doped Eu{sup 3+} and luminescence. {yields} The absorption edge and the peak of the MoO{sub 5} excitation band shift in reverse ways. {yields} The decline of the crystallinity and the introduced defect respond for the variation. -- Abstract: In this paper, we reported the obtention of Eu{sup 3+} ion doped Lu{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} powders synthesized by a sol-gel method, and followed by annealing at different temperatures. The structure and photoluminescence properties of these powders were investigated. The X-ray diffraction pattern suggests that Lu{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} powder has a monoclinic structure. It was observed that the UV-visible and photoluminescence spectra of Lu{sub 2}MoO{sub 6}:Eu nanocrystallines varied systematically with the calcination temperature. The near-UV absorption edge shifts to long wavelength direction with the decreasing of the calcination temperature, while the peak of MoO{sub 5} excitation band shifts in an opposite way. The decline of the crystallinity and the introduced lattice defect were considered to respond for these variations. Additionally, due to the efficient red light emission under near-UV light excitation, the powder can be a candidate as redmore » phosphor for white-light-emitting diodes.« less