Efficient Energy Transfer in Terbium Complexes/Porous Boron Nitride Hybrid Luminescent Materials

Abstract

A novel kind of organic–inorganic hybrid luminescent material has been developed through controllable encapsulation of devise terbium(III) complexes into a porous boron nitride (BN) host. The luminescence of the obtained hybrid materials can be modulated by simply changing the type of ligands in the complexes. Especially, intense green-light-emission has been observed in Tb(acac)3/BN (acac = acetylacetone) and Tb(acac)3phen/BN (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) hybrid materials. A unique synergistic effect between the BN host and Tb complexes has been realized, resulting in efficient energy transfer in the BN-ligands-Tb3+ system. The confinement of terbium complexes into porous BN leads to the hybrid materials demonstrating excellent thermal and photo stabilities. Porous BN host plays an important role for the superior performance of the hybrid materials. The developed organic–inorganic hybrid materials with multifunctional properties are promising for light-emitting applications.