Luminescent Thin Films Composed of Nanosized Europium Coordination Polymers on Glass Electrodes

Luminescent thin films composed of thermostable lanthanide coordination polymers on glass electrodes were prepared using a novel combination of micelle reactions and electrochemical deposition techniques. The micelle-encapsulated luminescent polymers were obtained by the polymerization of [Eu(hfa)₃ ] (hfa=hexafluoroacetylacetonate) with bridging phosphine oxide ligands in micelles using a redox-active ferrocenyl-containing surfactant in water. Films were electrochemically deposited on indium tin oxide coated glass electrodes by potentiostatic polarization of micelle-encapsulated Eu^III coordination polymers. The luminescence properties of the electrochemically deposited films were characterized by measuring their emission spectra, emission lifetimes and emission quantum yields.