Photophysical properties of a naphthalimide derivative encapsulated within Si-MCM-41, Ce-MCM-41 and Al-MCM-41

4-Piperazinyl-N-methyl-1,8-naphthalimide (PMN) was synthesized and encapsulated into mesoporous molecular sieves. The fluorescent emission spectra and fluorescence decay of PMN/M-MCM-41 (where M = Si, Ce, Al) were used to investigate the photophysical properties of the hybrid composites. The emission intensity of 4-piperazinyl-N-methyl-1,8-naphthalimide can be increased by decreasing the pH environment of the hybrid composites; the emission intensity varied with different MCM-41 hosts in the order: PMN/Al-MCM-41 > PMN/Si-MCM-41 > PMN/Ce-MCM-41; the fluorescence lifetime of PMN molecules followed the same order. The reasons for the improved fluorescence intensity and the prolonged lifetime of PMN in a low pH environment and Al-MCM-41 are discussed.