Studies on photoluminescent properties of Eu(III) ions in composite europium complex/polymer systems

Europium complex Eu(DB-bpy)phenCl3(H2O)2 (phen: 1,10-phenanthroline, DB-bpy: 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-dipyridyl) was doped in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP). The composite systems with various molar ratios of CO groups/Eu3+ ions were characterized by photoluminescent (PL) spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and luminescent lifetime measurements. It was found that Eu3+ ions have more than one kind of symmetrical sites in Eu/PMMA composites and the PL spectra of Eu(III) change with the compositions. However, the composites of Eu/PVP with different molar ratios show similar PL spectra, indicating different influence of matrices on luminescent properties.