Synthesis of Mesoporous and Hollow SiO 2 @ Eu(TTA) 3 phen with Enhanced Fluorescence Properties

• Published in: Materials 2023-06, Vol.16 (13)
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhiheng, Hu, Xiaoli, Yang, Yinqi, Wang, Wei, Wang, Yao, Gong, Xuezhong, Geng, Caiyun, Tang, Jianguo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944

Lanthanide ions are extensively utilized in optoelectronic materials, owing to their narrow emission bandwidth, prolonged lifetime, and elevated fluorescence quantum yield. Inorganic non-metallic materials commonly serve as host matrices for lanthanide complexes, posing noteworthy challenges regarding loading quantity and fluorescence performance stability post-loading. In this investigation, an enhanced Stöber method was employed to synthesize mesoporous hollow silica, and diverse forms of SiO @Eu(TTA) phen (S@Eu) were successfully prepared. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) outcomes revealed the effective binding of silica with Eu(TTA) phen through both physical adsorption and chemical bonding. This includes the formation of Si-O-C bonds between silica and the ligand, as well as Si-O-Eu bonds between silica and europium ions. Fluorescence tests demonstrated that the mesoporous SiO @Eu(TTA) phen(MS@Eu) composite exhibited the highest fluorescence intensity among the three structured silica composites, with a notable enhancement of 46.60% compared to the normal SiO @Eu(TTA) phen composite. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis indicated that the specific surface area plays a crucial role in influencing the fluorescence intensity of SiO @Eu(TTA) phen, whereby the prepared mesoporous hollow silica further elevated the fluorescence intensity by 61.49%. Moreover, SiO @Eu(TTA) phen demonstrated 11.11% greater cyclic stability, heightened thermal stability, and enhanced alkaline resistance relative to SiO @Eu(TTA) phen.