Syntheses, Structures and Near-IR Luminescent Studies on Ternary Lanthanide (ErIII, HoIII, YbIII, NdIII) Complexes Containing 4,4,5,5,6,6,6-Heptafluoro-1-(2-thienyl)hexane-1,3-dionate

Novel stable ytterbium acetylacetonate-quinaldinate complexes as single-molecule magnets and surprisingly efficient luminophores

The first Yb complexes comprising a quinoline-2-carboxylate (quinaldinate, Q-) ligand, namely 1D-polymeric [Yb(acac)2(Q)]n (1, acac- is the acetylacetonate (pentane-2,4-dionate) anion) and mononuclear [Yb(acac)2(Q)(Phen)] (2, Phen is 1,10-phenanthroline), are reported. The bifunctionality of both complexes as field-induced single-molecule magnets (SMMs) and near IR luminophores has been revealed. The SMM properties of 1 and 2 have been discussed in terms of the geometry and composition of the coordination environment. Also, 1 is the first example of 1D-polymeric SMMs with the capped octahedral surrounding of Yb3+. The photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 1 and 2 are 2 and 4%, respectively. The origins of this difference are discussed. Surprisingly, the PLQY value of 2 is high for compounds comprising a lot of C-H vibrational quenchers, being the highest one for reliably characterized Yb β-diketonate complexes, and surpassing those for complexes with a broad range of anionic ligands. In this respect, the role of the Phen ligand is to tune the coordination mode of Q- thereby decreasing the energy of coordinating C-O oscillators rather than to act as a typical antenna ligand. These results can give rise to an alternative route to elaborate efficient Yb-based luminophores via the substitution of the β-diketonate ligands controlled by the introduction of appropriate neutral ligands.

OLED Structure Optimization for Pure and Efficient NIR Electroluminescence of Nd3+ Complexes Bearing Fluorinated 1,3-Diketones

NIR emitting OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) with high photoluminescence quantum yields were developed on the basis of fluorinated 1,3-diketonate coordination compounds of the Nd³⁺ ion. Both thermal evaporation and spin-coating techniques were successfully employed for active layer deposition resulting in electroluminescence quantum yields up to 1.38·10^-2%. Blueish-green emission from exciplex and electroplax formations was almost suppressed with the topology optimization of the cell.

A dual-sensitized luminescent europium(iii) complex as a photoluminescent probe for selectively detecting Fe3

A new luminescent Eu^III complex, namely [Eu₂(BTFA)₄(OMe)₂(dpq)₂] (1), in which BTFA = 3-benzoyl-1,1,1-trifluoroacetone and dpq = dipyrido [3,2-d:2',3'-f] quinoxaline, has been designed and synthesized by employing two different ligands as sensitizers. Crystal structure analysis reveals that complex 1 is composed of dinuclear Eu^III units crystallized in the monoclinic P1̄ space group. Notably, 1 exhibits high thermal stability up to 270 °C and excellent water stability. The photoluminescence property of the complex is investigated. Further studies show 1 can recognize Fe³⁺ ions with high selectivity from mixed metal ions in aqueous solution through the luminescence quenching phenomenon. Furthermore, the recyclability and stability of 1 after sensing experiments are observed to be adequate. By virtue of the superior stability, detection efficiency, applicability and reusability, the as-prepared Eu^III complex can be a promising fluorescent material for practical sensing.

Structures and pure near-infrared photophysics of erbium and ytterbium(iii) complexes incorporating fluorinated β-diketone and neutral unidentate ligands

This paper reports on the synthesis, structures and pure near-infrared photophysical properties of low symmetry Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ β-diketonate ternary complexes.

Bright neodymium complexes for efficient near infra-red organic light emitting diodes

This paper reports the synthesis, structures, and photophysical and electroluminescence properties of low symmetry NIR emitting octa- and nona-coordinate Nd tris β-diketonate complexes.

The near-infrared luminescence and magnetism of dinuclear complexes with different local symmetries constructed from a β-diketonate co-ligand and bis-Schiff base ligand

A Dy^III-complex based on a β-diketonate co-ligand and bi-Schiff base ligand displays slow magnetic relaxation behavior.

Luminescence properties of pyrazolic 1,3-diketone Ho3+ complex with 1,10-phenanthroline

We performed spectroscopic investigations of a novel tris(1,3-bis(1,3-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)propane-1,3-dionato)(1,10-phenanthroline) holmium (III) complex. It was demonstrated that bonding the corresponding ligand environment to Ho³⁺ results in sensitization of the luminescence of the complex. The luminescence decay of the complex exhibits a biexponential behaviour. The short-lived component is attributed to the fluorescence of the ligand, whereas the long-lived component is connected with the Ho³⁺ emission. Using fluorescence lifetime imaging, it was shown that there is a single type of emission sites in the studied complex. Based on the results of the optical measurements, the energy diagram for the investigated Ho³⁺ complex was developed. It was shown that the energy transfer from the excited triplet level of the ligand environment to the ⁵F₅ level of Ho³⁺ is responsible for the emission of the ion in the complex.

Enhanced luminescence and tunable magnetic properties of lanthanide coordination polymers based on fluorine substitution and phenanthroline ligand

Lanthanide coordination polymers with F-substituted carboxylate tectonics and phenanthroline ligands exhibit emission from the visible to near-infrared region with long lifetime. Dy(iii) compounds show temperature dependent and field induced single molecule magnetism.

Tunable ligand emission of napthylsalophen triple-decker dinuclear lanthanide(iii) sandwich complexes

The ligand 1,1′-((1E,1′E)-(1,2-phenylenebis(azanylylidene))bis(methanylylidene)) bis(naphthalen-2-ol) (H₂L) was used to prepare lanthanide(iii) metal complexes found to self-assemble as triple decker sandwich complexes of the type (Ln₂L₃).

Terbium-Aspartic Acid Nanocrystals with Chirality-Dependent Tunable Fluorescent Properties

Terbium-aspartic acid (Tb-Asp) nanocrystals with chirality-dependent tunable fluorescent properties can be synthesized through a facile synthesis method through the coordination between Tb and Asp. Asp with different chirality (dextrorotation/d and levogyration/l) changes the stability of the coordination center following fluorescent absorption/emission ability differences. Compared with l-Asp, d-Asp can coordinate Tb to form a more stable center, following the higher quantum yield and longer fluorescence life. Fluorescence intensity of Tb-Asp linearly increases with increase ratio of d-Asp in the mixed chirality Tb-Asp system, and the fluorescent properties of Tb-Asp nanocrystals can be tuned by adjusting the chirality ratio. Tb-Asp nanocrystals possess many advantage, such as high biocompatibility, without any color in visible light irradiation, monodispersion with very small size, and long fluorescent life. Those characteristics will give them great potential in many application fields, such as low-cost antifake markers and advertisements using inkjet printers or for molds when dispersed in polydimethylsiloxane. In addition, europium can also be used to synthesize Eu-Asp nanoparticles. Importantly, the facile, low-cost, high-yield, mass-productive "green" process provides enormous advantages for synthesis and application of fluorescent nanocrystals, which will have great impact in nanomaterial technology.

Near-infrared luminescence and SMM behaviors of a family of dinuclear lanthanide 8-quinolinolate complexes

Herein we report the near-infrared luminescence properties and SMM behaviors of five new lanthanide complexes based on 8-hydroxyquinoline and dibenzoylmethanate ligands.

Near-infrared luminescence of Nd3+ and Yb3+ complexes using a polyfluorinated pyrene-based β-diketonate ligand

Highly efficient near-infrared emitting Nd³⁺ and Yb³⁺ complexes have been developed based on a new polyfluorinated pyrene-appended β-diketonate ligand.

Lanthanide mixed-ligand complexes of the [Ln(CAPh)3(Phen)] and [LaxEu1-x(CAPh)3(Phen)] (CAPh = carbacylamidophosphate) type. A comparative study of their spectral properties

A series of complexes Ln(Pip)3(Phen) (Ln(iii) = La, Ce-Nd, Sm-Lu, Y; HPip (CAPh type ligand) = 2,2,2-trichloro-N-(dipiperidin-1-yl-phosphoryl)acetamide, Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) has been synthesized. The lanthanum(iii) doped europium(iii) complexes ([LaxEu1-x(Pip)3(Phen)], x = 0.99, 0.95, 0.50) have been obtained by the co-crystallization method. The complexes have been characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, IR, (1)H and (31)P-NMR and absorption spectroscopy. Emission and excitation luminescence spectra were recorded at 295 and 77 K. The lifetime values (τ) for the emission of all europium complexes were determined. The (5)D0 luminescence quantum efficiency is 73-89%. The symmetries of the nearest europium surrounding in pure and doped complexes were evaluated from the Stark splitting of (5)D0-(7)FJ transitions. Crystal structures of [Ln(Pip)3(Phen)] (Ln = Nd (1), Eu (2) and Tb (3)) have been determined. Lattice parameters of the [Ln(Pip)3(Phen)] (Ln = Tb, Yb) and the doped [LaxEu1-x(Pip)3(Phen)] (x = 0.99, 0.95, 0.50) complexes have been measured. The presence of four polymorphs within a number of rare earth elements has been estimated: two in triclinic (Ln1 = La, Nd; Ln2 = Eu), one in the monoclinic (Ln3 = Tb) and one in the rhombic (Ln4 = Tb, Yb) symmetry. Complex 3 can be obtained in two crystal modifications: monoclinic and orthorhombic ones.

Tuning of the excitation wavelength in Eu3+-aminophenyl based polyfluorinated β-diketonate complexes: a red-emitting Eu3+-complex encapsulated in a silica/polymer hybrid material excited by blue light

A series of new antenna complexes of Eu³⁺ based on aminophenyl β-diketonate ligands was designed and their photophysical properties were evaluated.

Controlling dimensionality via a dual ligand strategy in Ln-thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylic acid-terpyridine coordination polymers

Eleven new lanthanide-2,5-TDC-terpyridine coordination polymers which employ a dual ligand strategy have been synthesized and characterized by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction as well as luminescence spectroscopy.

Multifunctional nanomesoporous materials with upconversion (in vivo) and downconversion (in vitro) luminescence imaging based on mesoporous capping UCNPs and linking lanthanide complexes

A series of new multifunctional nanomesoporous materials based on upconversion nanophosphors NaYF4:Yb,Tm@NaGdF4 (UCNPs) and lanthanide complexes were designed and synthesized through mesoporous capping UCNPs nanophosphors and linking lanthanide (Ln) complexes. The obtained UCNPs@mSiO2-Ln(dbm)4 (Ln = Eu, Sm, Er, Nd, Yb) materials can achieve downconversion and upconversion luminescence to show multicolor emission (covering the spectral region from 450 nm to 1700 nm) under visible-light excitation and 980 nm excitation, respectively. In addition, low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility was found as determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, and the nanomesoporous materials were successfully applied to cell imaging in vitro based on Eu(3+) luminescence (under 405 nm excitation) and small animal imaging based on Tm(3+) luminescence (under 980 nm excitation). The doped Gd(3+) ion endows the nanomesoporous materials UCNPs@mSiO2-Ln(dbm)4 with effective T1 signal enhancement, which affords them as potential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. Therefore, our results may provide more exciting opportunities for multimodal bioimaging and multifunctional applications.

Near infrared and visible luminescence from xerogels covalently grafted with lanthanide [Sm(3+), Yb(3+), Nd(3+), Er(3+), Pr(3+), Ho(3+)] β-diketonate derivatives using visible light excitation

A series of ternary lanthanide β-diketonate derivatives covalently bonded to xerogels (named as Ln-DP-xerogel, Ln = Sm, Yb, Nd, Er, Pr, Ho) by doubly functionalized alkoxysilane (dbm-Si) was synthesized in situ via a sol-gel process. The properties of these xerogel materials were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), diffuse reflectance (DR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyses, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The data and analyses suggest that the lanthanide derivatives have been covalently grafted to the corresponding xerogels successfully. Of importance here is that, after excitation with visible light (400-410 nm), the xerogels all show characteristic visible (Sm(3+)) as well as near-infrared (NIR; Sm(3+), Yb(3+), Nd(3+), Er(3+), Pr(3+), Ho(3+)) luminescence of the corresponding Ln(3+) ions, which is attributed to the energy transfer from the ligands to the Ln(3+) ions via an antenna effect. Exciting with visible light is advantageous over UV excitation. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first observation of NIR luminescence with visible light excitation from xerogels covalently bonded with the Sm(3+), Pr(3+), and Ho(3+) derivatives. Compared to lanthanide complexes (Ln = Er, Nd, Yb) functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) materials that exhibit similar optical properties reported in our previous work, the Ln-DP-xerogel (Ln = Sm, Yb, Nd, Er, Pr, Ho) in this case offer advantages in terms of ease of synthesis and handling and potentially low cost for emerging technological applications. Development of near-infrared luminescence of the lanthanide materials with visible light excitation is of strong interest to emerging applications such as chemosensors, laser systems, and optical amplifiers.

Structural and photophysical studies on ternary Sm(III), Nd(III), Yb(III), Er(III) complexes containing pyridyltriazole ligands

Two bidentate pyridine-triazole ligands (3-(pyridine-2-yl)-5-phenyl-1,2,4-triazole (L1) and 5-phenyl-2-(2′-pyridyl)-7,8-benzo-6,5-dihydro-1,3,6-triazaindolizine (L2)), have been synthesized and used for Ln(Dbm)₃ (Ln = Sm(III), Nd(III), Yb(III) and Er(III)) coordination. The structures of the ligands and resulting Sm(III) complex were determined in the solid state by X-ray diffraction. The title complexes were characterized by UV, fluorescent, IR-spectroscopy and thermogravimetric and elemental analyses. Photophysical studies on the Ln(III) complexes were carried out showing luminescence in the region typical for Ln(III). The effect of various factors on the enhancement luminescence of complexes is discussed.