Luminescence properties of sol-gel derived silica gels doped and undoped with RE-complexes(RE=Eu,Tb)

The luminescence properties of silica gels and silica gels doped with two rare earth complexes,Eu(TTA)3 and Tb(o-CBA)3 (TTA=thenoyltrifluocetate,o-CBA=o-chlorobenzoic acid) are reported and discussed.Pure silica gels show a blue luminescence,and the maximum excitation and emission wavelengths depend strongly on the solvents used.Both of the studied rare earth complexes exhibit the characteristic emissions of the rare earth ions in silica gels,i.e.,Eu3+5 Do→7 FJ(J=0,1,2,3,4),Tb3+5D4→7FJ(J=3,4,5,6) transitions.Compared with the pure RE-complexes powder,the silica gels doped with RE-complexes show fewer emission lines of the rare earth ions.Furthermore the rare earth ion (Tb3+) presents a longer lifetime (1346μs) in silica gel doped with Tb(o-CBA)3 than in pure Tb(o-CBA)3 powder (744μs).The reasons responsible for these results are discussed in the context.