Luminescent polymethacrylate composite nanofibers containing a benzoic acid rare earth complex: Morphology and luminescence properties

In this study, we systematically investigated the morphologies and luminescence properties of luminescent polymethacrylate composite nanofibers containing a benzoic acid rare earth complex. The analysis results indicated that the benzoic acid rare earth complex, Tb(4-methylbenzoic acid)3phen, was distributed uniformly in the polymethacrylate nanofibers, which were fabricated by electrostatic spinning. The Tb(4-methylbenzoic acid)3phen content in the polymethacrylate nanofibers was as high as 20% (mass%). The emission peaks of the as-prepared polymethacrylate composite nanofibers corresponded to the characteristic 5D4–7F6, 5, 4, 3 transitions of Tb3+ ions. The highest emission peak was observed at 548 nm and corresponded to the 5D4–7F5 transition. When the Tb(4-methylbenzoic acid)3phen content was less than 1%, even a 0.2% increase in the content increased the fluorescence intensity markedly. The thermal stability of the rare earth complex was higher in the as-prepared nanofibers; the initial decomposition temperature of the polymethacrylate composite nanofiber reached 291 °C. Composite nanofibers with different morphologies exhibited different luminescence characteristics. The fluorescence intensity and emission lifetime of porous nanobeads were nine and two times higher, respectively, than those of smooth nanofibers. The better morphological and luminescence properties exhibited by the synthesized luminescent polymethacrylate composite nanofibers should result in the use of benzoic acid rare earth complexes in a greater number of applications.

Published：2021

Journal：Journal of Alloys and Compounds

Impact Factor：4.650

Paper link：https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925838815010646