Structural characterization and photoluminescence properties of sol-gel derived nanocrystalline BaMoO4:Dy3+

Nanocrystalline BaMoO4 samples doped with varying Dy3+ content were prepared by acrylamide assisted sol-gel combustion process. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. The crystalline phase and structure of all the Dy3+ doped BaMoO4 prepared samples were confirmed from the analysis of the obtained results of XRD, FT-Raman and FTIR. The average crystallite sizes of all the prepared samples, calculated using Scherrer׳s formula and XRD data, were found to be less than 100 nm. Microstructures of all the prepared Dy3+ doped BaMoO4 samples were analyzed from the obtained SEM micrographs. Excitation, emission and lifetime spectroscopic studies of undoped and Dy3+ doped BaMoO4 were carried out. Effect of concentration of Dy3+ on the luminescence properties of the prepared phosphors viz. emission intensity and PL decay, was also investigated. Based on critical distance calculation, mechanism for concentration quenching was proposed. Undoped sample was found to give reddish blue emission, whereas doped samples showed yellowish white emission.