Eu3+, Tb3+/β-diketonate functionalized mesoporous SBA-15/GaN composites: multi-component chemical bonding assembly, characterization, and luminescence.

GaN-functionalized rare earth (Eu3+ and Tb3+) organic/inorganic mesoporous nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized (designated as RE(L-SBA-15)3(L-GaN); RE=Eu, Tb; L=TAA-Si, BTA-Si). The organosilane precursor materials (L-SBA-15) are synthesized by co-condensation of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and the functionalized β-diketones (TAA-Si and BTA-Si) in the presence of Pluronic P123 surfactant as a template. The modified β-diketones ligands are also used to covalently bond with surface-modified GaN and formed another precursor L-GaN. Both of the precursors can coordinate with rare earth ions to synthesize the final mesoporous materials via a sol-gel process. FTIR, TEM, XRD, and nitrogen (N2) adsorption/desorption measurements are employed to characterize the mesostructure of RE(L-SBA-15)3(L-GaN). The luminescence properties and thermogravimetric analysis of all the prepared materials are characterized in detail, and the results reveal that a series of uniformed mesopore structure hybrid materials has been achieved. The mesoporous material Eu(BTA-Si-SBA-15)3(BTA-Si-GaN) has better luminescence intensity, higher quantum efficiency, and longer lifetime than Eu(TAA-Si-SBA-15)3(TAA-Si-GaN). While the nanocomposite Tb(TAA-Si-SBA-15)3(TAA-Si-GaN) revealed the strongest characteristic emission of Tb ions than Tb(BTASiSBA-15)(BTASiGaN), the excellent luminescent properties and thermal stability enable the hybrid mesoporous material to have potential applications in optical field.