Study on interaction between Tb(III) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-styrene) core–shell nanoparticles

Based on the synthesis of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-styrene) P(NIPAM-co-St) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) grafted P(NIPAM-co-St) core–shell nanoparticle, a new kind of thermoresponsive and fluorescent complex of Tb(III) and PNIPAM-g-P(NIPAM-co-St) (PNNS) was successfully prepared. The PNNS–Tb(III) complex was characterized with the different techniques. It was found that when PNNS with the core–shell structure interact with Tb(III), Tb(III) mainly bonded to O of the carbonyl groups of PNNS, forming the novel PNNS–Tb(III) complex. After forming the complex, the emission fluorescence intensity of Tb(III) in the complex is significantly enhanced. Especially, the maximum emission intensity of the PNNS–Tb(III) complex at 545 nm is enhanced about 223 times comparing to that of the pure Tb(III) because the effective intramolecular energy transfer from PNNS to Tb(III). The intramolecular energy transfer efficiency from PNNS to Tb(III) reaches 50%. The fluorescence intensity is related the weight ratio of Tb(III) and PNNS in the PNNS–Tb(III) complex. When the weight ratio of Tb(III) and the PNNS is 12 wt%, the enhancement of the emission fluorescence intensity at 545 nm is highest. This novel fluorescence characterization of the PNNS–Tb(III) complex may be useful in the fluorescence systems and the biomedical field.