Effects of Sintering Temperature on the Morphology and Photoluminescence of Eu3+Doped Zinc Molybdenum Oxide Hydrate

Abstract

Synthesis of shape controlled and rare-earth doped ZnMoO4 nanostructures on a large scale with low costs is a present challenge in nanotechnology. The precursor of Eu3+ doped zinc molybdenum oxide hydrate (Zn5Mo2O11·5H2O) was synthesized at room temperature via the coprecipitation method. The influences of the sintering temperature on the microstructures and photoluminescence (PL) of the precursor were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermal gravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and PL spectrophotometry. It is found that Eu3+ doped ZnMoO4 nanostructures can be derived by sintering the precursor at a relatively low temperature of about 400°C. Our results have demonstrated that Eu3+ doped ZnMoO4 nanostructures can be cost-effectively derived by sintering the precursor at a relatively low temperature.