Luminescence of EPDM rubber ultrafine fibers containing nanodispersed Eu-complexes

Polyvinylpyrrolidone/ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (PVP/EPDM) sheath/core fibers, with the incorporation of Eu(TTA)3Phen (TTA=2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, Phen=1,10-phenanthroline) complex (Eu-complex) in EPDM, were prepared by coaxial electrospinning. The composite fibers were further vulcanized by peroxide. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations showed that the composite fibers had an average diameter of about 200 nm and a smooth surface. The dispersion of Eu-complexes in the fibers was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The studies revealed that the Eu-complex was dispersed in the EPDM fibers in the form of molecular clusters and/or nanoparticles with a diameter smaller than 10 nm. Fluorescence spectra and Judd-Ofelt parameters analysis showed that the luminescent quantum efficiency of the composite fibers was greatly improved when the Eu-complex content was 15 wt.%, because the fine dispersion of Eu-complex in EPDM facilitated the increase of radiative transition rate of the composite fibers over that of the neat complex powder.