High red luminescence intensity under sunlight exposure of a PMMA polymer doped with a tetrakis Eu β-diketonate complex containing a benzimidazolium counterion.

New tetrakis Eu and Gd β-diketonate complexes containing benzimidazolium (Bzim) as the counterion were synthesized by the one-pot method. The Bzim[Eu(tta)]·HO complex was further incorporated into a poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix (PMMA) at 1, 5, and 10% (w/w), which revealed highly desirable photonic features. The Eu and Gd complexes were characterized by elemental and thermal analyses, in addition to ESI-MS spectrometry, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of the tetrakis Bzim[Eu(tta)]·EtOH complex revealed that the Bzim counteraction and EtOH molecules exhibited several intermolecular interactions with very short hydrogen bond distances between two [Eu(tta)] anion units. The PMMA:(1%) Bzim[Eu(tta)]-doped material was thermally stable up to 120 °C, which was close to the values found for the Eu-complex. Regarding the photoluminescence properties, either the Bzim[Eu(tta)]·HO or the doped films showed intense emission arising from the metal ion over a wide range of excitation wavelengths comprising UVA, UVB, and UVC regions. In addition, when the polymer films were exposed to sunlight radiation in an open external environment, the materials revealed a high Eu-centered red emission arising from the D → F transition. The Bzim[Eu(tta)]·HO and Bzim[Eu(tta)]·EtOH complexes showed high absolute quantum yields ( ) of 56% and 70%, respectively, whereas the doped polymer films displayed only ∼38%. All materials exhibited a highly red monochromatic emission characteristic. We believe that such luminescent systems could be promising photonic materials with a wide excitation range, including UVA, UVB, UVC, and sunlight, acting as efficient light-converting molecular devices (LCMDs).