Bright Blue-Emitting Ce³⁺ Complexes

Significance

The authors report the synthesis of a family of Ce³⁺ complexes with N-trisubstituted tris(N-alkylbenzimidazol-2-ylmethyl) amine as their ligands. The complexes were readily obtained in yields of about 80% by reaction of Ce(SO₃CF₃)₃·6H₂O with the ligands in MeCN-EtOH. All complexes exhibit strong blue luminescence, both in solid state and in solution, displaying efficient metal- and ligand-based excitation, energy transfer, and characteristic Ce³⁺ emission. Functionalization of the ligands through nitrogen substitution with different alkyl groups led to a noticeable influence on the emission wavelength and intensity.