Theoretical and experimental spectroscopic studies of the first highly luminescent binuclear hydrocinnamate of Eu(III), Tb(III) and Gd(III) with bidentate 2,2'-bipyridine ligand

In this paper, the synthesis of three new binuclear lanthanide (III) complexes [Ln2(cin)6(bpy)2] (Ln=Eu (1), Tb (2), Gd (3), cin=hydrocinnamate anion; bpy=2,2'-bipyridine), and their complete characterization, including single crystal X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy and thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) are reported. In especial, photophysical properties of Eu(III) complex have been studied in detail via both theoretical and experimental approaches. Crystal structures of 1–3 reveal that all compounds are isostructural and that each lanthanide ion is nine-coordinated by oxygen and nitrogen atoms in an overall distorted tricapped trigonal-prismatic geometry. Eu(III) complex structure was also calculated using the Sparkle model for lanthanide complexes and the intensity parameters (Ω2, Ω4, and Ω6), calculated from the experimental data and from Sparkle/PM3 model. The theoretical emission quantum efficiencies obtained for Sparkle/PM3 structures are in excellent agreement with the experimental values, clearly attesting to the efficacy of the theoretical models. The theoretical procedure applied here shows that the europium binuclear compound displays a quantum yield about 65% suggesting that the system can be excellent for the development of efficient luminescent devices. Highlights: • First binuclear Ln3+-hydrocinnamate have been synthesized and characterized. • Eu3+, Tb3+ and Gd3+ complexes photoluminescence properties were investigated. • Theoretical approaches for Eu3+ complex luminescence has been performed. • An energy level diagram is used to establish the ligand-to-metal energy transfer. • 65% Quantum yield suggests an excellent system for luminescent devices