Preparation and investigation of Eu3+-activated ZnMoO4 phosphors for white LED

Eu3+-doped ZnMoO4 red phosphors with different doping concentrations were synthesized at the temperature of 800 °C by solid-state reaction technique in air atmosphere. The structures of the phosphors were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra. The excitation and emission spectra were used to investigate the photoluminescent properties of the phosphors. The effect of Eu3+ concentration on the structural and photoluminescent properties of ZnMoO4:Eu3+ red phosphors were discussed systemically. And the photoluminescent properties of ZnMoO4:Eu3+ red phosphors under different excitation wavelengths were investigated to find their utilities in various lighting applications. Strong red emission intensity and high color purity with chromaticity coordinates (0.666, 0.334) were obtained for Zn0.8MoO4:0.2Eu3+ phosphors excited at 395 nm. The Zn1−xMoO4:xEu3+ phosphors, which could be applied as red-emitting phosphors excited by ultra-violet and blue chips, have potential application in white light-emitting diodes.