Synthesis, structural and spectroscopic investigations of nanostructured samarium oxalate crystals

• First time report on nanostructured Samarium oxalate crystals.
• The mechanism of aggregation of nanocrystals as nanoplates is explained.
• Spectroscopic parameters are evaluated using Judd–Ofelt theory.
• Suitability of the materials as a phosphor was confirmed by fluorescence study.

Nanostructured samarium oxalate crystals were prepared via microwave assisted co-precipitation method. The crystal structure and morphology of the sample were analyzed using X-ray powder diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy and Transmission electron microscopy. The presence of functional groups is ascertained by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Samarium oxalate nanocrystals of average size 20 nm were aggregated together to form nano-plate structure in sub-microrange. Detailed spectroscopic investigation of the prepared phosphor material was carried out by Judd–Ofelt analysis based on the UV–Visible–NIR absorption spectra and photoluminescence emission spectra. The analysis reveals that the transition from energy level 4G5/2 to 6H7/2 of Sm3+ ion has maximum branching ratio and the corresponding orange emission can be used for display applications.

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