Terbium/zinc luminescent hybrid siloxane-oxide materials bridged by novel ureasils linkages

Covalently bonded silicate/modified aromatic acid luminescent composites have been prepared from 3-(triethoxysilyl)-propyl isocyanate (TEPIC) grafted salicylic acid and central metal ions (Tb, Zn). The existence of covalent linkages between TEPIC and silica matrices were realized by after hydrolysis and polycondensation processes of ethoxysilyl groups. Luminescence spectra were utilized to characterize the photophysical properties of the obtained hybrid material and the above spectroscopic data reveal that the triplet energy of modified salicylic acid in this favorable hybrid system matches with the emissive energy level of Tb3+. In addition, Zn containing hybrids exhibit a broad band around 420 nm which may be beneficial to fabricate blue emission materials.