Uniform europium-based infinite coordination polymer submicrospheres: Fast microwave synthesis and characterization

Uniform europium-based infinite coordination polymer (ICP) submicrospheres have been prepared via a facile and fast microwave heating method in 5 min, with pyridine-2, 5-dicarboxylic acid and europium nitrate as reagents and N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvent. The products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) were also carried out. XRD results reveal that the product is amorphous. SEM and TEM results show that the submicrospheres are with diameters of 200–400 nm. Furthermore, the surface of the microspheres is smooth and the submicrospheres are solid. Strong red emission centering at 618 nm was observed in the europium-based ICP microspheres on excitation with 394 nm UV light. This method may be employed to the preparation of other coordination polymers micro/nanostructures.