Highly luminescent tetranuclear Eu(III) complex with characteristic cavity space

Abstract Novel luminescent tetranuclear Eu(III) complex [Eu(btfa) 3 (salbn)] 4 (btfa: benzoyltrifluoroacetonate, salbn: N,N '-bis(salicylidene)-1,4-butanediamine) with characteristic cavity space is reported. The Eu(III) complex excited at 480 nm exhibits the highest photosensitized emission quantum yield (36%) reported for similar previously reported tetranuclear Eu(III) complexes. The Eu(III) complex with salbn and btfa also showed the spectral change under addition of K + and Zn 2+ ions. In this study, we demonstrated metal ions sensor ability of a highly luminescent Eu(III) complex.