Influence of surfactant on the structural, morphological and optical properties of SrWO4: Insights through electron density distribution analysis

Scheelite-type surfactant-assisted SrWO4 was prepared via a simple co-precipitation method. The effect of various surfactants such as hexamethylenetetramine, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and sodium dodecyl sulphate, on the structural, morphological and photoluminescence (PL) properties of SrWO4 was investigated. Powder X-ray diffraction and the Rietveld profile refinement technique confirmed the tetragonal structure of all the as-synthesized SrWO4 materials. Among the three surfactants, particles with spherical morphology were observed for SDS-assisted SrWO4. ( ) Surfactant-assisted SrWO(4 )exhibited bluish-green emission around 500 nm, ascribed to the presence of WO42- luminescence centre at 284 nm excitation, and the PL emission intensity significantly increased in the presence of surfactant. Electron density distribution analysis of a single unit cell for all the prepared materials was investigated, and correlated with the PL results.

Automated summary

Surfactant-assisted SrWO4 with scheelite-type structure was prepared and studied for its structural, morphological, and photoluminescence properties. Among the different surfactants used, SDS resulted in SrWO4 particles with spherical morphology. The PL emission of surfactant-assisted SrWO4 showed a bluish-green color around 500 nm, which can be attributed to the luminescence center of WO42- at 284 nm excitation. The presence of surfactant significantly enhanced the PL intensity.