Tunable white light and energy transfer of Dy3+ and Eu3+ doped Y2Mo4O15 phosphors

A series of Dy3+ or/and Eu3+ doped Y2Mo4O15 phosphors were successfully synthesized at a low temperature of 600 °C via solid state reaction. The as-prepared phosphors were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscope (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) excitation, emission spectra and PL decay curves. XRD results demonstrate that Y2Mo4O15: Dy3+, Eu3+ has the monoclinic structure with the space group of p21/C(14). Under the excitation of ultraviolet (UV) or near-UV light, the Dy3+ and Eu3+ ions activated Y2Mo4O15 phosphors exhibit their characteristic emissions in the blue, yellow and red regions. The emitting light color of the Y2Mo4O15: 0.08Dy3+, yEu3+ phosphors can be adjusted by varying the concentration ratio of Dy3+ to Eu3+ ions and a white light is achieved when the doping concentration of Eu3+ is 5%. In addition, the energy transfer from Dy3+ to Eu3+ is also confirmed based on the luminescence spectra and decay curves.