Tunable emission, energy transfer and charge compensation in SrMoO4:Sm3+,Tb3+,Na+ phosphor

A series of SrMoO4:Sm3+,Tb3+,Na+ phosphors was synthesized using a high-temperature solid-state reaction method in air. On excitation at 290nm, SrMoO4:Sm3+,Tb3+ phosphor emitted light that varied systematically from green to reddish-orange on changing the Sm3+ and Tb3+ ion concentrations. The emission intensities of SrMoO4:Sm3+ and SrMoO4:Sm3+,Tb3+ phosphors were increased two to four times due to charge compensation when Na+ was added as a charge compensator. The luminescence mechanism and energy transfer could be explained using energy-level diagrams of the MoO42- group, Sm3+ and Tb3+ ions. SrMoO4:Sm3+,Tb3+,Na+ could be used as reddish-orange phosphor in white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on an similar to 405nm near-UV LED chip. This research is helpful in adjusting and improving the luminescence properties of other phosphors. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.