Enhanced red emission in ZnMoO4:Eu3+ by charge compensation

Eu3+ doped ZnMoO4 with charge compensation were synthesized by solid-state reactions. The phosphors with different charge compensation approaches, Zn1-1.5xMoO4 : Eu-x(3+) and Zn1-2xMoO4 : Eu-x(3+), M-x(+) (x = 0.2, M = Li, Na, K) were studied in detail. All of the phosphors can be effectively excited by 396 and 467 nm light, and exhibit superior red emission around 614 nm to ZnMoO4 : Eu3+ without charge compensation, which implies that efficient charge compensation can promote the luminescence of Eu3+ in ZnMoO4. The influence of sintering temperature on the luminescent properties of phosphors with different charge compensation approaches is also discussed. The result indicates that appropriate charge compensation can not only enhance the relative intensity but can also improve the colour purity of the red phosphor.