Preparation and characterization of a layered transparent luminescent thin film of silica–CTAB–Tb(acac)3 composite with mesostructure Original Research Article

A layered luminescent mesostructured thin film of silica–CTAB–Tb(acac)3 composite has been synthesized by a dip-coating process through an in situ sol–gel method. The terbium (Tb3+) ion and β-diketone organic ligand acetylacetone (acac) were introduced into the precursor solution, respectively. The as-synthesized composite film was transparent, colorless and possessed a layered structure. After the composite film was dried at 50 °C for a few minutes Tb(acac)3 complex was synthesized in the mesostructured thin film, which can be indicated by the luminescence of the composite film under the UV lamp. The properties of the samples were characterized by XRD, absorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and luminescent spectra.