Bifunctional magnetic-optical nanocomposites: grafting lanthanide complex onto core-shell magnetic silica nanoarchitecture.

A new class of bifunctional architecture combining the useful functions of superparamagnetism and terbium complex luminescence into one material has been prepared via two main steps by a modified Stöber method and the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. The obtained bifunctional nanocomposites exhibit superparamagnetic behavior, high fluorescence intensity, and color purity. The architecture has been characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis absorption and emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry.