Hydrothermal
reaction of La(NO3)3 and Na2WO4·2H2O at 100 °C and pH 8 resulted in
the formation of new compound NaLaW2O7(OH)2(H2O), as confirmed by the X-ray diffraction results,
chemical composition, Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric/differential
thermal analysis, and transmission electron microscopy analyses. The
crystal structure was determined in the triclinic system (space group P1̅), with lattice constants a =
5.8671(2) Å, b = 8.2440(2) Å, and c = 9.0108(3) Å, axis angles α = 93.121(2)°,
β = 75.280(2)°, and γ = 94.379(2)°, and cell
volume V = 420.03(2) Å3. The structure
contains two-dimensional layers of -(W1O6)-(W1O6)-(W2O6)-(W2O6)-(W1O6)-(W1O6)- and -LaO9-LaO9- chains alternating
in the a–b plane, which are linked together
through NaO6 octahedral trigonal prisms by edges to form
a three-dimensional net. Dehydration of the compound proceeds up to
a low temperature of ∼350 °C and results in the formation
of technologically important NaLa(WO4)2 double
tungstate, which is thus a unique precursor for the latter. Na(La,RE)W2O7(OH)2(H2O) and Na(La,RE)(WO4)2 solid solutions separately doped with the practically
important activators for which RE = Eu, Tb, Sm, and Dy were also successfully
synthesized and investigated for their structural features and photoluminescence
properties, including excitation, emission, quantum yield, emission
color, and fluorescence decay kinetics. The compounds were shown to
exhibit dominantly strong red (∼616 nm for Eu3+;
λex = 395 or 464 nm), green (∼545 nm for Tb3+; λex = 278 or 258 nm), deep red (∼645
nm for Sm3+; λex = 251 nm), and yellow
(∼573 nm for Dy3+; λex = 254 nm)
emission upon being irradiated with the peak wavelengths of their
strongest excitation bands.