Synthesis and characterization of PVP/TbL(phen)0.5 x 7H2O nanorods

The luminescent complex terbium (III)-trimesic acid (TMA)-1,10-phenanthroline (phen) nanorod was synthesized in the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) matrix by a co-precipitation method. The chemical formula of the synthesized complex was speculated to be PVP/TbL(phen)0.5 x 7H2O by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), elemental analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) of PVP/TbL(phen)0.5 x 7H2O indicated that it was a crystalline complex. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) result showed that the complex was nanorods with diameters of about 80-100 nm. The thermogravimetric curve (TGA) analysis exhibited that the complex has good stability below 400 degrees C. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra showed that there is a maximum absorption at 300 nm. The photoluminescence analyses (PLA) showed that the synthesized complex emitted the characteristic green fluorescence of Tb (III) ions under ultraviolet light excitation. The emission peaks of PVP/TbL(phen)0.5 x 7H2O at 488, 542, 581, and 618 nm using 278 nm as exciting wavelength can be assigned to the 5D4 --> 7F6, 5D4 --> 7F5, 5D4 --> 7F4, and 5D4 --> 7F3 electron transitions of the Tb3+ ions, respectively.