Synthesis and Characterisation of Tb4L3(Phen)0.75•7H2O Nanorods

The rare earth complex terbium (III)-pyromellitic acid (H4L)-1,10-phenanthroline (phen) nanorod was synthesized in the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) matrix by a co-precipitation method. The chemical composition of the as-synthesized sample was speculated to be PVP/Tb4L3(phen)0.75∙7H2O by elemental analysis, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) result exhibited that the as-synthesized sample was nanorods with diameters of ca. 150 nm. The X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) of the sample showed that it was a crystalline complex. The thermogravimetric curve (TGA) analysis exhibited that the sample is stable below 450 °C. UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra exhibited that there is a broad and strong absorption band in the range of 280-350 nm. The photoluminescence analyses (PLA) indicated that the as-synthesized sample emitted the characteristic green fluorescence of Tb (III) ions under ultraviolet light excitation.