Dramatic Increases in the Lifetime of the Er3+ Ion in a Molecular Complex Using a Perfluorinated Imidodiphosphinate Sensitizing Ligand.

The article presents a study which shows how the encapsulation properties of the tpip moiety coupled with the advantages afforded by fluorination lead to dramatic improvements in the PL properties of Er3+-based organolanthanide complexes. A new bidentate chelating ligand, tetrapentafluorophenylimidodiphosphinate (HF-tpip), has been synthesized, first by preparing the appropriate fluorinated phosphine precursor, followed by coupling this to hexamethyldisilazane. It would appear that eliminating all of the C-H bonds serves to significantly reduce the degree of vibrational quenching, which in turn leads to longer lived Er3+ excited states and enhanced emission intensity.