Formation mechanism and optical properties of CdMoO4 and CdMoO4:Ln3+ (Ln = Pr, Sm, Eu, Dy, Ho and Er) microspheres synthesized via a facile sonochemical route

Abstract

In the present work, large-scale uniform CdMoO₄ and CdMoO₄:Ln³⁺ (Ln = Pr, Sm, Eu, Dy, Ho, Er) microspheres have been successfully synthesized via a facile sonochemical route. XRD, FE-SEM, EDS, the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, and photoluminescence (PL) spectra were used to characterize the samples. The results show that the CdMoO₄:Ln³⁺ can be directly indexed to the tetragonal CdMoO₄ phase with high purity. The influence of the reaction time and reactants on the size and shapes of the CdMoO₄ microspheres has been studied, and the results revealed that the ultrasonication time and reactants play a crucial role in determining the final morphologies of the samples. Additionally, the PL properties of the CdMoO₄ and CdMoO₄:Ln³⁺ (Ln = Pr, Sm, Eu, Dy, Ho and Er) microspheres were investigated in detail. It can be seen that the CdMoO₄:Pr³⁺, Sm³⁺, Eu³⁺, Dy³⁺, Ho³⁺ and Er³⁺ samples are located in the red, yellow, red, white, yellow and green regions, respectively. Simultaneously, this novel and efficient pathway could open new opportunities for further investigating the properties of molybdate materials.