The pressure effect on the photoluminescence and Raman spectra of Nd(DBM)3·Phen

Photoluminescence and Raman spectra of rare earth complex Nd(DBM)3·Phen (DBM, dibenzoylmethane; Phen, 1,10-phenanthroline) are measured at high pressures. A new Raman band appearing at 1070 cm−1 indicates a second-order phase transition around 5.0 GPa. Although the crystal lattice is destroyed for pressures higher than 7.1 GPa, photoluminescence spectra show that the emission intensity of Nd3+ is enhanced dramatically with the pressure increasing up to 9.9 GPa, which is attributed to an efficient intramolecular energy transfer from the ligand to Nd3+. By analyzing the energy of the ground and excited states at 9.9 GPa, the 4H11/2 energy level is considered as the main resonance energy level that efficiently accepts the transferred energy from the ligand.