Luminescent Tb(III) and Sm(III) complexes with a 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-based tris-aryloxide ligand for high-performance oxygen sensors

摘要

Taking advantage of the outstanding oxygen-sensitive luminescence properties of the previously synthesised Tb(III) complex [{((ArO)-Ar-MeMe)(3)tacn}Ln(III)(THF)] (1(Tb), Ln = Tb), herein, we have prepared an oxygen sensor based on 1(Tb) embedded in polystyrene film (1(Tb)/PS) and found that 1(Tb)/PS shows the highest sensitivity (I-0/I-100 = 14.9) and the fastest response (response/recovery time = 1.9 s/2.9 s), among the lanthanide(III)-based oxygen sensors with f-f emission. Moreover, we have prepared the lanthanide(III)-based colorimetric luminescent oxygen sensor (1(TbSm)/PS) with green-yellow-red responses, by using 1(Tb) and a newly synthesised oxygen-insensitive Sm(III) complex (1(Sm), Ln = Sm; Phi = 0.010 and tau = 12.2 mu s).