Abstract
CaMoO4:Nd (core), CaMoO4:Nd@CaMoO4 and CaMoO4:Nd@CaMoO4@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized using polyol method under urea hydrolysis. X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis were employed to examine the structural and thermal properties of the as-prepared core and core-shell nanoparticles. Optical properties of core and core-shell nanoparticles were observed to investigate the influence of surface coating on the spectra of as-prepared nanomaterials in terms of ultraviolet/visible (UV-Vis) absorbance, FTIR, Raman and emission spectra. The optical band gap energy calculated from the UV-Vis absorption spectrum for CaMoO4:Nd, CaMoO4:Nd@CaMoO4 and CaMoO4:Nd@CaMoO4@SiO2 nanoparticles was 3.09, 2.06 and 1.26 eV, respectively. The photoluminescence spectra of the samples showed broad charge transfer emission band of [MoO4](2-) along with sharp transitions of neodymium ion in the visible and near infrared regions, respectively.