Dual-luminescent Sc(MoO):Dy/Eu phosphor system: energy transfer dynamics and high-sensitivity temperature sensing.

A series of Dy/Eu co-doped Sc(MoO) (SMO) phosphors were synthesized a conventional solid-state reaction. Phase purity and morphology were characterized by X-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement and scanning electron microscopy, confirming the formation of phase-pure orthorhombic crystals. The electronic structure was investigated through density functional theory calculations combined with diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Under 266 and 352 nm excitation, the Dy doped SMO phosphors exhibited characteristic emission peaks at 488 nm (F → H), 578 nm (F → H), 667 nm (F → H), and 761 nm (F → H). In the Dy/Eu co-doped systems, detailed analysis of spectra and luminescence decay kinetics quantitatively confirmed efficient energy transfer from Dy to Eu. Finally, the optimized SMO:Dy, Eu phosphors achieved maximum relative ( ) and absolute ( ) sensitivities of 3.817% K and 0.018 K, respectively, demonstrating potential for ratiometric optical thermometry applications.