Sensitised luminescence in lanthanide containing arrays and d-f hybrids.

Sensitised luminescence from lanthanide complexes offers many potential advantages in imaging and assay, particularly when coupled with time-gating protocols that can be used to gate out background signal. In this perspective, we discuss the routes by which lanthanide arrays and polymetallic d-f hybrids can be prepared by conventional synthesis and self-assembly, and discuss and evaluate the possibilities for exploiting and evaluating the intermediates in the sensitisation process, with particular emphasis on the mechanisms of energy transfer.