Synthesis and photoluminescence study of flexible PMMA/Eu and Tb complex nanotube arrays

Four kinds of flexible PMMA/ Eu and Tb complexes were synthesized using anodic alumina oxide (AAO) as template, in which Eu(acetylacetone)(3)Phen, Tb(acetylacetone)(3)Phen, Eu(aspirin)(3)Phen, and Tb(aspirin)(3)Phen were homogeneously dispersed into one dimension (1D) nanotube array. They absorbed much more ultraviolet light than bulk membrane due to their excellent absorption in nanometer scale. The photoluminescence performances were evaluated in terms of absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, decay curve, fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence quantum yield, indicating the flexible membrane with a nanotube array structure has superior photoluminescence properties. Especially, the fluorescence quantum yield increases by about 50 percent due to the uniform distribution and 1D nanotube array structure, which was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The flexible fluorescent membrane with 1D nanostructure is expected to be applied in luminescent chemical sensors, polymer optical amplifiers and light-emitting thermometer for its optical properties.