Tuneable luminescence in multicolour films

Abstract

Trivalent Rare Earth (RE3+) β-diketonate complexes and polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA) have been widely employed in the productions of luminescent materials. In this work, preparation, characterization and photoluminescence studies for a series of stand-free polymer thin films incorporating RE3+-β-diketonate complexes into PMMA were reported. The PMMA matrix not only immobilizes the luminescent RE3+ species via physical and chemical interactions, but also operates as co-sensitizer and enhances the characteristic monochromatic emissions arising from the 4f–4f intraconfigurational transitions of the RE3+ ions. Furthermore, it was observed colour-tuneable luminescence with the polymeric systems. Therefore, they are potentially attractive for the production of advanced photonic applications such as multicolour anti-falsification optical markers, λex.= 254 nm full range UV sensors etc. Moreover, the observation of intermolecular energy transfer from the emitter level (5D4) of Tb3+ ions to the triplet state (T1) of the Eu3+ species was unprecedented in literature.