Luminescence of lanthanides in covalently pillared zirconium phosphate

Abstract

The luminescence of certain lanthanides can be obtained in full if the metals are chelated to a suitable chromophor (antenna effect). This phenomenon may be achieved within the body of a porous solid. There are many examples in the literature regarding this approach. The present paper accounts for our recent findings concerning lanthanide luminescence within zirconium phosphate, a quite versatile laminar inorganic salt. The strategy of building 3D scaffolds from the 2D inorganic salt and 1D organic pillars is detailed. The covalent attachment of conveniently functionalized chromophores to the lanthanide-containing inorganic lamellae renders solid materials that can be used as organic–inorganic phosphors. The creation of supramolecular chirality within these layered solids, something that have been easily achieved by us in previous work, may lead to a new kind of phosphor producing circularly polarized luminescence with high efficiency.