Facile hydrothermal synthesis of Tb2(MoO4)3:Eu3+ phosphors: controllable microstructures, tunable emission colors, and the energy transfer mechanism†
Abstract
Microsphere-like Tb2(MoO4)3 structures have been successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method with the subsequent calcination treatment. The shape and size of the microstructure of Tb2(MoO4)3 precursors can be tuned effectively by altering the amount of citric acid, and the possible formation mechanisms of various microstructures are also put forward, showing that citric acid plays a key role in controlling the morphologies of the precursors. By doping Eu3+, Tb2(MoO4)3:Eu3+ phosphors exhibit excellent luminescence properties with tunable emission colors (green → yellow → red) resulting from the effective energy transfer from Tb3+ to Eu3+. Particularly, the energy transfer mechanism (Tb3+ → Eu3+) has also been investigated in detail, showing that the process mainly takes place via the dipole–dipole interaction based on a few theoretical simulations. Due to the facile preparation process, as well as intense tunable emission colors, these novel phosphors are expected to find a broad range of applications in future color displays and light-emitting devices.