Coordination bonding construction, characterization and photoluminescence of ternary lanthanide (Eu(3+), Tb(3+)) hybrids with phenylphenacyl-sulfoxide modified bridge and polymer units

A novel polysilsesquioxane bridge (PPSSi) is synthesized with methylene group modification of phenylphenacyl sulfoxide by isocyanate group from 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate (TEPIC). Then ternary lanthanide (Eu, Tb) hybrids of polysilsesquioxane bridge (PPSSi) and four kinds of polymer chain (polyacrylamide (PAM), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyethyl methacrylate (PEMA) were assembled wth coordination bonding. To explore the influence of the different polymeric chains on the properties of lanthanide hybrids, the microstructure and photoluminescent properties of these lanthanide coordination polymer hybrids (PPSSi-Ln-PAM (PVP, PMMA, PEMA)) are compared in detail. Four organic polymer chains with different structures not only can coordinate to the lanthanide ions by their own carbonyl groups, but also can form a polymeric matrix together with the inorganic Si-O network. The results show that all the obtained hybrids could show efficient intramolecular energy transfer and lead to excellent characteristic emission of lanthanide ions. Moreover, the different structures of the polymers induce different microstructures and different photoluminescent behavior (lifetime and quantum efficiency) for these hybrid systems. The PPSSi-Ln-PMMA hybrid leads to the longest lifetime and highest quantum efficiency.