Caracterização das propriedades fotoluminescentes de Ba1-xZnxMoO4 sintetizados pelo método de spray pirólise ultrassônico

Abstract

The molybdates have been the subject of studies due to their various applications. Among the molybdates, the barium molybdate (BaMoO4) and zinc molybdate (ZnMoO4) have been standing out by its interesting photoluminescent properties, with light emissions in the region of the blue, green and orange, and by its different methods of obtaining, such as hydrothermal, sol-gel and coprecipitation. Ba1-xZnxMoO4 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1) powders were synthesized, in a one-step, by the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method, using temperatures of 1000 ºC and 1100 ºC. Time for particle formation within the reactor was approximately 1 min. The samples were structurally characterized by the X-ray diffraction and morphologically by the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Optical properties of the samples were studied using UV-visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. The DRX patterns showed that the samples with x = 0 and x = 1 have crystalline tetragonal scheelite and triclinic structure, respectively, without the presence of secondary phases. On the other hand, the samples with x = 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 revealed the formation of a heterostructure tetragonal/triclinic, in which atomic substitution of Ba2+ by Zn2+ in the tetragonal structure of the BaMoO4 and triclinic structure of the ZnMoO4 occurring the atomic substitution of Zn2+ by Ba2+. FESEM micrographs showed that the particles obtained have predominantly spherical morphology with diameters ranging from 100 to 1500 nm. The gap energy of the Ba1-xZnxMoO4 ranged from 4.56 eV to 4.17 eV, with the powders with x = 0, obtaining the highest values (4.54 eV and 4.56 eV) and the powders with x = 1 the lowest values (4.17 eV and 4.26 eV). In this way, it was noticed that the gap energies of the samples decrease with the increase of the value of x, that is, with increasing substitution of the Ba2+ for the Zn2+ atoms. Photoluminescent (PL) spectra of the samples showed broad band behavior, with predominant emission in the orange-red region and small emission contribution of the blue-green region, with the sample of x = 0.75 obtained at 1000 ° C showing higher PL intensity. The chromaticity coordinates x and y showed that the samples with x ≤ 0.75 exhibit in orange emission, however, the samples with x = 1 presented white emission, can be a promising candidate for applications in light emitting diodes.