Preparation and luminescence properties of phosphors of rare earth complexes based on polyoxotungstates

•Three new phosphors of rare earth complexes based on polyoxotungstates were synthesized.•[Eu(PW11O39)2]11− (1) emits red light which used as potential red light materials.•[Sm(PW11O39)2] 11− (2) emits strong orange-red light at 598.7 nm.•[Dy(PW11O39)2] 11− (3) emits white light which used as potential white light materials.

Three new phosphors of rare earth complexes based on polyoxotungstates, K3Cs8[Eu(PW11O39)2]·11H2O (1), K3Cs8[Sm(PW11O39)2]·10H2O (2), and K5Cs6[Dy(PW11O39)2]·15H2O (3) have been prepared and characterized. The crystallographic analyses reveal that these compounds consist of two monovacant keggin anions [PW11O39]7− connected by a rare earth ion in a sandwich structure. The investigations of photoluminescence properties show that phosphor 1 emits strong red light at 614 and 702 nm, 2 emits strong orange-red light at 598.7 nm, and 3 exists two strong emissions at 479 nm (blue) and 574 nm (orange). The luminescence properties suggest that the 1 can be applied as the potential red-emitting crystal phosphor, and the 3 may be regarded as a potential white light material for LEDs.

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