Terbium-based infinite coordination polymer hollow microspheres: preparation and white-light emission

Novel rare earth based 4,4',4 ''-benzene-1,3,5-triyl-tri-benzonate (RE-BTB) infinite coordination polymer (ICP) hollow microspheres have been successfully prepared via a facile surfactant-free mixed-solvothermal route, among which Tb-BTB was studied in detail. These as-prepared hollow microspheres using terbium as the central ion have diameters of 260-500 nm. Influential factors such as reaction temperature, reaction time, dosage of reagents, and solvent composition on the morphology and size of the Tb-BTB ICP hollow spheres have been systematically investigated. An inside-out formation mechanism was proposed for the hollow microspheres. The photoluminescence properties of the Tb-BTB hollow spheres have been systematically studied. It turns out that it is easy to tune the luminescent characteristics of the Tb-BTB ICP hollow spheres within a wide spectral range by simply varying the excitation lines or the doping concentration of Eu3+. Interestingly, white-light emission was realized in the Eu3+ doped Tb-BTB hollow spheres.