Fluorescent nanoblocks of lanthanide complexes on nano silicon dioxide and carbon nanotube donors with ligand–antenna integration (ALI) structure

In this article, nano silicon dioxide (SiO2) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were chosen as nanoscaffolds to anchor organic oligomer of poly(styrene-alt-maleic acid)(SMA) and further as built nanoligands (donors) to chelate with lanthanide acceptors (i.e. Tb3+) to obtain hybrid fluorescent nanoblocks (HFNB). Firstly the surfaces of nano-SiO2 particles and CNTs were modified to introduce the functionalized groups that would be applied to anchor oligomer SMA. Then, lanthanide (Tb3+) chelated with the anchored SMA. The measurement results indicated these HFNBs have strong sharp fluorescent emission under ultraviolet excitation. Moreover, the modified products of nanoSiO2 and CNTs in each modification step show different dispersing behaviors in organic or aqueous medium. Based on the above results, the final HFNBs have good dispersion in polymer matrix and easy processing characteristic for fluorescent nanocomposites.