Synthesis and photoluminescence study of two new complexes Er3+and Yb3+ and their PMMA based composite fibers

Abstract

The present article showcases the creation and evaluation of luminescent composite fibers by embedding coordination polymers, such as Er (1) {[Er(2-stp)3(H2O)]}n and Yb (2) {[Yb(2-stp)3(H2O)]}n, which are suspended in 2-sulfoterephthalate, into polymer matrices using electrospinning. The Er (1) and Yb (2) complexes were combined with poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) at concentrations ranging from 5wt. % to 25wt.%, leading to the formation of Er@PMMA and Yb@PMMA fibers. This method resulted in one-dimensional (1D) luminescent composite fibers. Our study reveals that these composite fibers exhibit superior photoluminescence properties compared to their individual pure complex counterparts. This enhancement is ascribed to the synergistic effects of the PMMA matrix and electrospun fiber structure. Furthermore, we observed that the composite nanofibers exhibited significantly better thermal and photostability compared to their pure complexes.