Photon antennas: self-assembly of donor and acceptor metal ions at the galleries of layered α-zirconium phosphonates

✍ Scribed by Challa V. Kumar; A. Chaudhary

• Book ID: 104431794
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 116 KB
• Volume: 32
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1387-1811
• DOI: 10.1016/s1387-1811(99)00091-8

✦ Synopsis

Donor and acceptor metal ions are self-assembled by coordination to the carboxylate functions of the a-carboxyethyl zirconium phosphonate (a-ZrCEP). Uranyl and europium ions, for example, bind to the carboxyl functions of a-ZrCEP at stoichiometric amounts (2:1, carboxylate to metal ion). Selective excitation of uranyl (donor) with visible light (430 nm) resulted in efficient energy transfer from the donor excited states to europium(III ) (acceptor). Sensitized emission from the acceptor was observed at 590 nm and the quenching efficiencies are estimated from the luminescence experiments. Binding of the donors and acceptors to the matrix resulted in enhanced energy transfer from the donor to the acceptor when compared to the solution phase studies. The quenching efficiencies increase dramatically with donor concentration as direct evidence for the donor-to-donor energy migration within the assemblies of the metal ions. Such systems that function with visible light may be of interest in photonics, and in solar energy harvesting.