Photoluminescent electrospun europium complex Eu(TTA)3phen embedded polymer blends nanofibers

Europium complex Eu(TTA)3phen (TTA = 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) was incorporated into polymer blends made of polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to fabricate Eu(TTA)3phen/PVDF-PS, Eu(TTA)3phen/PVDF-PMMA and Eu(TTA)3phen/PS-PMMA nanofibers by electrospinning for photoluminescent fabric designing. These nanofibers have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Photoluminescence of Eu(TTA)3phen/polymer blends nanofibers was systematically compared with pure Eu(TTA)3phen which showed typical Eu3+ ion red emission, assigned to the transitions between the first excited state (5D0) and the multiplet (7F0-3). The presence of different polymer blends as matrix for Eu(TTA)3phen increases the fluorescent intensity of the 5D0→7F2 hypersensitive transition of Eu3+ ions. Eu(TTA)3phen/PVDF-PS and Eu(TTA)3phen/PVDF-PMMA nanofibers showed better photoluminescence properties compared to that of Eu(TTA)3phen/PMMA-PS nanofibers because of influence of polymers on the coordinative environment of europium ions and the dimensional effect of polymer blend fibers. Eu(TTA)3phen/PVDF-PS and Eu(TTA)3phen/PVDF-PMMA nanofibers are found to be potential materials for photoluminescent material designing.