Cofluorescence of Eu in complexes of aromatic carboxylic acids

The fluorescence of Eu³⁺ in certain Eu³⁺–aromatic acid complexes were enhanced by over two orders of magnitude, by the addition of La³⁺; a process referred to as cofluorescence. Cofluorescence was observed only with certain aromatic acid ligands; trismesic acid, pyromellitic acid and mellitic acid; thereby clearly establishing a correlation between the structure of the ligand and the process of cofluorescence. While cofluorescence has been extensively studied using β-diketones as ligands, our studies demonstrate cofluorescence for the first time in ligands other than β-diketones. Furthermore, the mechanism of cofluorescence in the aromatic acid complexes studied by us appears to be different from that operating in the β-diketones. While intermolecular energy transfer is believed to occur in the β-diketones, formation of polynuclear complexes appears to be responsible for cofluorescence in the aromatic acid ligands.