Bright red luminescence and triboluminescence from PMMA-doped polymer film materials supported by Eu3+-triphenylphosphine based β-diketonate and 4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-9,9-dimethylxanthene oxide

•A new β-diketonate ligand developed for the sensitization of Eu3+.•The developed europium complex embedded into PMMA polymer films display bright red luminescence and triboluminescence in the daylight.•The developed polymer films are thermally stable.•Excellent agreement between the experimental and theoretical photophysical properties.

Herein, a new β-diketonate ligand, namely, 1-(4-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl)-4,4,5,5,5-pentafluoropentane-1,3-dione (DPPFH) has been synthesized and utilized for the construction of an antenna complex of Eu3+ [Eu(DPPF)3(DDXPO)] in the presence of a chelating ligand, 4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-9,9-dimethylxanthene oxide (DDXPO). The developed Eu3+ compound has been well characterized and investigated the photophysical properties. The designed Eu3+ complex displays bright red luminescence upon irradiation at the ligand-centered band at 375 nm with a quantum yield of 39% in the solid-state. Interestingly, the ternary Eu3+ complex also exhibits brilliant triboluminescence in the daylight, which could be useful in the design of pressure and damage detection probes. In addition, the newly obtained Eu3+ complex was embedded into a PMMA matrix to form highly luminescent films having quantum yields as high as 45–50%. These plastic materials display enhanced thermal stability as compared to parent compound. The ground state coordination geometry of the typical Eu3+ complex was calculated using the Sparkle/RM1 model. The excellent agreement between the experimental and theoretically predicted photophysical data, attesting the efficacy of the theoretical approach implemented in the LUMPAC software (http://lumpac.pro.br).

Graphical abstractPMMA-doped polymer film materials supported by Eu3+- triphenylphosphine based β-diketonate complex exhibit bright red luminescence and triboluminescence.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide