Structure, morphology, and luminescence properties of brilliant blue-green-emitting CdW $${\mathrm{O}}₄$$: A $${\mathrm{g}}⁺¹$$ and G $${\mathrm{d}}⁺³$$ phosphors for optical applications

Structural, morphological, optical, and luminescence properties of pure CdWO4, Ag+-doped CdWO4, and Gd3+-doped CdWO4 (CWO, CWO: Ag, & CWO: Gd) nanopowders successfully synthesized by the low-cost co-precipitation method at room temperature were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), EDX elemental mapping, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), UV–Vis absorbance spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and ion-beam-induced luminescence (IBIL) measurements. XRD patterns of all samples confirmed the formation of the polycrystalline monophasic wolframite CdWO4. Parameters of the unit cells also were characterized by the Rietveld analysis. TEM images showed that the mean size of particles was 62 nm, 68 nm, and 53 nm for CWO, CWO: 0.5at%Ag+, and CWO: 0.5%Gd3+, respectively. The optical bandgap of the CWO nanoparticles was engineered by introducing Ag and Gd dopants over a range of (sim) 5.3–5.57 eV. The PL and IBIL spectra of the three samples exhibited brilliant broad blue-green peaks around 468nm and 495 nm at room temperature, respectively. This research has excellently and exclusively devoted a great deal of effort to detail the simple methods of ionoluminescence and photo extraction for optical application. Ag+ dopant indicated an excellent brilliant enhancement in emission intensity due to the probably produced shallow levels in CWO bandgap structure. Therefore simple synthesized CWO: Ag nanoparticles have potential application in photonics and solid-state luminescence materials. Graphical abstract