Exploration of photophysical behavior of lanthanide complex and its hybrids

Abstract

The present work envisioned to synthesize europium complexes [Eu-(L)3-phen] (where, L is 4,4,4-Trifluoro-1-(2-furyl)-1,3-butanedione (TFB), phen-1,10 -phenanthroline) and its hybrids via embedding pure complex into silica and PMMA. The sol–gel method was adopted for incorporating europium complex into silica matrix as [Eu-(L)3-phen]-silica and this method was proved to be highly effective and excellent approach for obtaining such lanthanide hybrid material. Another hybrid was prepared by incorporating complex into PMMA (polymethyl methyl acrylate), an organic polymer, transformed into flexible thin film. The structure of the [Eu-(L)3-phen] was elucidated using various spectroscopic techniques, moreover Sparkle model calculation were utilized for prediction of ground state geometry. The photophysical properties of pure complex [Eu-(L)3-phen] and its hybrids were studied in detail and compared. The incorporation of pure complex into PMMA is highly supportive to enhance the stability of complex as evident from enhanced luminescent intensity, intensity ratio value 6.52, longer lifetime value 842μs and higher quantum efficiency 77% over pure complex. The organic polymer PMMA is expected to interact well with europium complex via antenna effect. The use of such inorganic and organic entities for hybrid preparation purposefully overcomes the flaws of lanthanide complexes in terms of thermal stability and mechanical strength. The promising and fascinating properties of synthesized lanthanide hybrids are fruitful in material research.