Highly luminescent europium(III) complexes with naphtoiltrifluoroacetone and dimethyl sulphoxide

The synthesis, luminescence properties, experimental determination and theoretical calculation of the emission quantum yield of Eu(NTA)₃.2L complexes, where NTA is naphtoiltri-fluroacetone and L denotes H₂O or DMSO (dimethyl sulphoxide), were reported. The compounds were characterized by elemental analysis (carbon, hydrogen and europium), thermal analysis, UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The experimental quantum yields were determined based on a method previously proposed by Bril and collaborators. The Eu(NTA)₃.2DMSO compound shows a high value for the Ω₂ intensity parameter (35.8 × 10^?20 cm²), reflecting the hypersensitive nature of the ⁵D₀ → ⁷F₂ transition and indicating that the lanthanide ion is in a highly polarizable chemical environment. The experimental quantum yield measured for that compound, 0.75, is one of the highest so far reported for solid-state europium complexes. The theoretical calculations of the quantum yield were carried out by solving an appropriate set of rate equations and by using empirical spectroscopic parameters and energy transfer rates. The theoretical results agree well with the experimental data for both complexes. The photostability of Eu(NTA)₃.2DMSO at 358K was evaluated in order to verify whether this complex can be applied as a phosphor for blue light emitting devices.