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.