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

A series of novel self-organized broccoli-like SrMoO 4 : Pr c 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 Pr 3+ doped SrMoO 4 . According to scanning electron microscope (SEM) detection, these SrMoO 4 : Pr 3+ superparticles show the broccoli-like three-dimensional architecture composed of highly intensive nanorods . Additionally, the SEM images of different SrMoO 4 : Pr 3+ 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 Pr 3+ 3 P 0 → 3 F 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   μs with increasing Pr 3+ doping concentration. Evidently, this PAH method shows a potential application in synthesis of self-assembling and well-distributed luminescent materials .