Combinatorial study of cofluorescence of rare earth organic complexes doped in the poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix

The luminescence enhancement effect of different kinds and contents of rare earth complexe (RE(DBM)3Phen, RE = Dy, La, Gd, Sm, Y; DBM = dibenzoylmethane; Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) sensitized Eu(DBM)3Phen doped in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix was investigated using the combinatorial method. The efficiency of the luminescence enhancement increases with a decrease in the weight percentage of the Eu(DBM)3Phen and an increase in the molecular weight of the PMMA in the systems. Among these sensitization ion complexes, La(DBM)3Phen shows the highest sensitization efficiency. At the optimal content of 5 wt % Eu(DBM)3Phen and 350,000 g/mol weight average molecular weight (Mw) of PMMA, the maximum sensitization efficiency of La(DBM)3Phen is approximately 20 times. We believe that the PMMA with high molecular weight enwraps the rare earth complexes and keeps the donors and acceptors close, which results in the effective intermolecular energy transfer and, consequently, the high sensitization efficiency.