Direct evidence of energy transfer from a singlet ligand level to lanthanide ions in their diketonate complexes

Abstract

We have compared the fluorescence intensity of 2-naphthoyltrifluoroacetonate (NTA) in nanoparticles from Gd(NTA)3phen complexes with the fluorescence intensities of this compound in nanoparticles from similar complexes of Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Er, Ho, and Tm, which absorb in the NTA fluorescence range. We have proven that there is energy transfer from the S1 level of NTA ligands to Ln(III) ions, which occurs with rates ktr ∼ 1011–1012 s−1. We have also studied the competition between two processes: energy transfer from Ln(NTA)3phen to Ln(III) ions and energy transfer to Nile blue molecules incorporated into nanoparticles from complexes of these ions. It has been shown that, in nanoparticles from complexes of Nd(III), Tb(III), Dy(III), and Tm(III) ions, which are incapable of sensitizing the fluorescence of Nile blue, the values of ktr2 for the energy transfer from NTA to Ln(III) ions, which were obtained from the data on the change in the intensity of the sensitized fluorescence of Nile blue, completely coincide with the values of ktr1 determined from the fluorescence quenching of NTA in these nanoparticles. We have found that, in nanoparticles from Pr, Sm, Eu, Er, and Ho complexes, the efficiency of the sensitized fluorescence of Nile blue is higher than that predicted from the fluorescence quenching of NTA by these ions in their complexes, which indicates that all these ions participate as mediators in the energy transfer from ligands to the dye.