Triboluminescence of Lanthanide Coordination Polymers

Abstract

Triboluminescence (TL) and photoluminescence (PL) of novel lanthanide (Ln(III)) coordination polymers [Ln(hfa)3(dpf)] n (dpf: 2,5-bis(diphenylphosphoryl)furan, Ln=Tb, Gd, Eu) are reported. The coordination polymers exhibited bright TL due to the face-to-face arrangement of substituents between single polymer chains. The observation of TL in a series of Eu(III) coordination polymers and a Gd(III) compound indicated that both hfa ligands and Ln(III) ions were excited under grinding. Significant PL/TL spectral differences in [Tb,Eu(hfa)3(dpf)] n due to distinct excitation processes upon grinding and UV irradiation were observed for the first time.