Luminescence of dipicolinic complexes of lanthanide ions

Abstract

The luminescence decay times τ_lum of the complexes of the ions Tb(III), Eu(III), Sm(III), Dy(III), and Yb(III) with dipicolinic acid (DPA) dissolved in protonated and deuterated water, methanol, and dimethyl sulfoxide are measured. The values of τ_lum for crystals H₃[Ln(DPA)₃]·nH₂O and their aqueous solutions coincide, which points to the identity of the environment in the nearest spheres of an ion in both cases. A comparison of τ_lum of solutions of the complexes in H₂O and D₂O, as well as in CH₃OH, CH₃OD, CD₃OD, DMSO-h ₆, and DMSO-d ₆ shows that the molecular groups in the second and third spheres of an ion, exhibiting high-frequency vibrations, have a noticeable effect on the rate constants of nonradiative transitions k _nr in the ion. From this comparison, some inferences on the structure of the solvate shell of the Ln(DPA) ³⁻₃ complexes in the solvents used are made. The contributions to k _nr of Eu(III), Tb(III), Sm(III), Dy(III), Nd(III), and Yb(III) made by OH and CH groups located at different distances from the ion are estimated. It is demonstrated that the dependence of k _nr on the distance to the OH and CH groups is steeper for the Eu(III) and Tb(III) ions than for the remaining ions.