A luminescent inorganic-organic hybrid material containing the europium(III) complex with high thermal stability

A novel fabric softener, namely N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (AEAPS), which reacted with citric acid (blank sample) can emit strong blue light, while the above copolymer complexed with Eu3+ (AEAPS-Eu (III) hybrid material) can emit blue and red lights. The two samples were synthesized by a method of solution polymerization. The optical properties of the samples were characterized by means of photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra and emission (PL) spectra, CIE chromaticity diagram, and PL decay curve. And the structure of the sample was characterized by means of infrared (IR) spectra and 29Si NMR. The thermal properties of the sample were characterized by means of thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The blank sample has a strong emission at about 440 nm, while the AEAPS-Eu(III) hybrid material at 614 nm. This hybrid material shows changeable colors by changing the excitation wavelength. TGA shows that the AEAPS-Eu (III) hybrid material was thermally stable up to 370 °C due to the high bond energy of SiOSi bond, while the glass transition temperature (Tg) was about 139 °C from the DSC curve. The synthesis process is straightforward and AEAPS-Eu (III) hybrid material can be produced in large scale, so it is a potential candidate for anti-counterfeiting materials.