Erbium bis(pentafluorophenyl) phosphinate: a new hybrid material with unusually long-lived infrared luminescence

Abstract

Bis(pentafluorophenyl)phosphinic acid, (C6F5)2PO2H, forms thermally stable, anhydrous salts with rare earth ions such as Er3+ and Y3+; these materials adopt polymeric structures. The erbium(III) salt displays photoinduced luminescence at 1,545 nm, decay of which is mediated by erbium–erbium energy migration. The average luminescence lifetime, ⟨τ⟩=0.44ms⟨τ⟩=0.44ms , is remarkably long for a solid erbium complex with organic ligands. This is attributed to the exclusion of solvents by the bulky ligands and the absence of any C–H bonds or other high frequency oscillators that could cause vibrational quenching.