Lanthanide complex-derived white-light emitting solids: A survey on design strategies

Solid-state materials with tunable light emission characteristics offer an attractive prospect. Unique luminescence features of trivalent lanthanide (Ln(III)) ions-sharp characteristic emission in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions, exceptional color purity, long luminescence lifetimes, high quantum yield and large Stokes shifts-afford them as promising white-light source materials. The review provides an overview of the recent developments in the Ln-complex-based solid-state white-light emitters with particular emphasis on different design strategies and photoluminescence features to augment the foundations of factual knowledge further. The approaches adopted in the lanthanide coordination complexes-logical codoping of Ln(III) in various compositions, lanthanide encapsulation in MOF pores, infinite coordination particles, and lanthanide incorporated composites-to attain tunable white-light emission, will be discussed. The pros and cons of diffe.rent adopted strategies in term of further processing of the materials into real-world applications as well as the imminent challenges are also reviewed and put in prospect. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.