Site selective spectroscopic study of an efficient red-emitting phosphor Y2MoO6:Eu

• Efficient red-emitting phosphor Y2MoO6:Eu was synthesized by sol–gel method.
• Three luminescent centers were confirmed by site selective excitation spectra.
• The correlation between the site structures and luminescent centers were clarified.
• Directional energy transfer from sites to sites was observed at room temperature.

Y2MoO6:Eu, an efficient red-emitting phosphor for white light emitting diodes, was synthesized by the sol–gel method and investigated by site selective spectroscopy under the selective excitation of a tunable laser. Three kinds of sites occupied by Eu3+ ions were confirmed by low temperature emission and excitation spectra in this compound. Lifetime measurements were carried out to identify the emission peaks of Eu3+ in each site. The correlation between the site structure and luminescent property of Eu3+ were clarified by using selection rules. And energy transfer between different sites was observed and discussed.