Effect of silver nanoparticles on luminescent properties of europium complex in di-ureasil hybrid materials

Abstract Organic–inorganic hybrids containing luminescent lanthanide complex Eu(tta) 3 phen (tta=thenoyltrifluoroaceton, phen=1,10-phenanthroline) and silver nanoparticles have been prepared via mixing rare earth complex and nanoparticles with the precursors of di-ureasil using a sol–gel process. The obtained hybrid materials with transparent and elastomeric features were characterized by transmission electron microscope, solid-state 29 Si magic-angle spinning NMR spectra, diffuse reflectance, UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The effect of the silver nanoparticles on the luminescence properties was investigated. The experimental results showed that the luminescence intensity of the Eu(tta) 3 phen complex could be enhanced by less than ca. 9.5 nM of silver nanoparticles with the average diameter of 4 nm, and reached its maximum at the concentration of ca. 3.6 nM. Further increasing the concentration of the silver nanoparticles (>9.5 nM) made the luminescence quenched. The enchancement and quench mechnism was discussed.