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

In this paper, we reported the obtention of Eu3+ ion doped Lu2MoO6 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 Lu2MoO6 powder has a monoclinic structure. It was observed that the UV–visible and photoluminescence spectra of Lu2MoO6: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 MoO5 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 red phosphor for white-light-emitting diodes.