Morphology-controlled synthesis of NaGd(WO4)2:Eu3+ microcrystals by hydrothermal process

•Synthesis of NaGd(WO4)2:Eu3+ microcrystals by hydrothermal process.•Effects of PVP and Na3Cit on morphology-control.•Effects of hydrothermal time on morphology and size of samples.•Good luminescent properties of samples.

Spindle and hierarchical petaloid NaGd(WO4)2:Eu3+ microcrystals were synthesized by hydrothermal process with the addition of PVP and Na3Cit. The XRD and FTIR results show that synthesized samples have the pure tetragonal phase. The addition of PVP in the synthesis induces the formation of spindle morphology, but the addition of Na3Cit induces the obtaining of hierarchical petaloid structure. The hydrothermal time has obvious influence on the morphology and size of the NaGd(WO4)2:Eu3+ samples. The excitation and emission spectra of spindle and hierarchical petaloid NaGd(WO4)2:Eu3+ microcrystals show characteristic bands corresponding to the WO42− groups and Eu3+ ions. Although there is no obvious red or blue shift in the emission spectra of spindle and petaloid NaGd(WO4)2:Eu3+ samples, the emission intensity of spindle NaGd(WO4)2:Eu3+ sample is higher than that of the petaloid NaGd(WO4)2:Eu3+ sample.