Tunable luminescence and enhanced photocatalytic activity for Eu(III) doped Bi2WO6 nanoparticles.

A series of Eu(III) doped Bi2WO6 nanoparticles were synthesized by a hydrothermal process. The obtained Bi2WO6:Eu(III) nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, SEM, luminescence spectrophotometer and DRS. The XRD and TEM results indicate that the Eu(III) doping concentration has no influence on the phase and morphology. However, the Eu(III) doping can tune the luminescence and enhance the photocatalytic activity of Bi2WO6. With the increases of Eu3+ doping concentrations, the emission intensity of WO66- group decreases nut the photocatalytic activity increases. The tunable luminescence of Bi2WO6:Eu(III) nanoparticles results from the energy transfer from WO66- group to Eu(III) ion. The enhanced performance can be ascribed to efficient separation of electron and hole pairs after doping Eu(III) into the Bi2WO6 lattice.