title: Near-infrared luminescent hybrid materials doped with lanthanide (Ln) complexes (Ln = Nd, Yb) and their possible laser application.
abstract: The crystal structures of ternary Ln(DBM)(3)phen complexes (DBM = dibenzoylmethane, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, and Ln = Nd, Yb) and their in situ syntheses via the sol-gel process are reported. The properties of the Ln(DBM)(3)phen complexes and their corresponding Ln(3+)/DBM/phen-co-doped luminescent hybrid gels obtained via an in situ method (Ln-D-P gel) have been studied. The results reveal that the lanthanide complexes are successfully in situ synthesized in the corresponding Ln-D-P gels. Both Ln(DBM)(3)phen complexes and Ln-D-P gels display sensitized near-infrared (NIR) luminescence upon excitation at the maximum absorption of the ligands, which contributes to the efficient energy transfer from the ligands to the Ln(3+) ions (Ln = Nd, Yb), an antenna effect. The radiative properties of the Nd(3+) ion in a Nd-D-P gel are discussed using Judd-Ofelt analysis, which indicates that the (4)F(3/2) --> (4)I(11/2) transition of the Nd(3+) ion in the Nd-D-P gel can be considered as a possible laser transition.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Chemistry and Physics, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li-Ning
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Hong-Jie
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qing-Guo
authors.initials: QG
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Feng-Yi
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lian-She
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Chun-Yun
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Jiang-Bo
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Guo-Li
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Shu-Bin
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Wang