Luminescent hybrid ionogels functionalized with rare earth fluoride up-conversion nanocrystals dispersing in ionic...

Rare earth doped fluorides (BaMgF4, aYF4 and BaYF5/BaLuF5) have been synthesized and dispersed in an ionic liquid compound, (3-triethoxysilyl) propyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (denoted as IM(+)Cl(-)). Through the cohydrolysis and copolycondensatoin reaction between the alkoxy group (3-triethoxysilyl) of IM(+) and tetraethoxysilane in the presence of carboxylic acids (formic acid) as catalyst and water source, luminescent hybrid ionogels form subsequently. (1)H NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and especially up-conversion (UC) luminescence spectroscopy are used to characterize the precursors and the resulted hybrid ionogels. These hybrid ionogels exhibit the UC luminescence properties of immobilized rare earth fluoride nanocrystals (BaMgF4, NaYF4 and BaYF5/BaLuF5) doped Er(3+)/Tm(3+), Yb(3+).