Eu3+, Yb3+ and Eu3+-Yb3+ complexes with salicylic acid and 1,10-phenanthroline: synthesis, photoluminescent properties and energy transfer.

This paper reports the synthesis of mononuclear Eu(3+), Yb(3+) and binuclear Eu(3+)-Yb(3+) complexes by solution technique, maintaining the stoichiometric ratios of salicylic acid (sal) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) as ligands and their structural, optical and morphological properties were demonstrated. The FTIR absorption spectra indicates that sal and phen are coordinated to the rare earth ion through the chemical bonds formed between oxygen and nitrogen atoms of the ligands and rare earth ion. The UV-vis absorption spectra of the complexes reflect the absorption spectra of the ligands and there is no significant change in the wavelength and band profiles between the spectra of the ligands and that of complexes except a slight red shift. The photoluminescent emission spectra of the complexes in visible and near-infrared (NIR) region was recorded and indicated the emission quenching in complex (2) due to the energy transfer from Eu(3+) ion to Yb(3+) ion. The morphological properties of the complexes as characterized by SEM revealed different morphologies of mononuclear and binuclear complexes.