Preparation and luminescence properties of in situ formed lanthanide complexes covalently grafted to a silica network

Lanthanide-doped sol-gel-derived materials are an attractive type of luminescent materials that can be processed at ambient temperatures. However, the solubility of the lanthanide complexes in the matrix is a problem and it is difficult to obtain a uniform distribution of the complexes. Fortunately, these problems can be solved by covalently linking the lanthanide complex to the sol-gel-derived matrix. In this study, luminescent Eu3+ and Tb3+ bipyridine complexes were immobilized on sol-gel-derived silica. FT-IR, DTA-TG and luminescence spectra, as well as luminescence decay analysis, were used to characterize the obtained hybrid materials. The organic groups from the bipyridine-Si moiety were mostly destroyed between 220 and 600 degreesC. The luminescence properties of lanthanide bipyridine complexes anchored to the backbone of the silica network and the corresponding pure complexes were comparatively investigated, which indicates that the lanthanide bipyridine complex was formed during the hydrolysis and co-condensation of TEOS and modified bipyridine. Excitation at the ligand absorption wavelength (336 nm for the hybrid materials and 350 nm for the pure complexes) resulted in strong emission of the lanthanide ions: Eu3+ D-5(0)-F-7(J) (J = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) and Tb3+ D-5(4)-F-7(J) (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) emission lines due to efficient energy transfer from the ligands to the lanthanide ions.