Preparation and luminescent properties of self-organized broccoli-like SrMoO4: Pr3+ superparticles

A series of novel self-organized broccoli-like SrMoO4: Prc(3+) (c=0.01-0.06) superparticles were synthesized via a polymer-assisted hydrothermal (PAH) method. In this work, the polyetherimide and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid were employed to bind metal ions for their homogeneous distribution and effectively control the nucleation and growth process of Pr3+ doped SrMoO4. According to scanning electron microscope (SEM) detection, these SrMoO4: Pr3+ superparticles show the broccoli-like three-dimensional architecture composed of highly intensive nanorods. Additionally, the SEM images of different SrMoO4: Pr3+ superparticles with the gradually increasing growth time (0.5-24 h) were used to probe their self-organism grown mechanisms. Moreover, the red emission spectrum peaked at around 646 nm, attributed to the Pr3+ P-3(0)-> F-3(2) transition, can be effectively excited by the excitation wavelength of 449, 479 or 487 nm. Moreover, the average lifetimes decreased from 4.064 to 3.834 mu s with increasing Pr3+ doping concentration. Evidently, this PAH method shows a potential application in synthesis of self-assembling and well-distributed luminescent materials.