A novel terbium–mercury compound: Preparation, structure, and properties

Abstract

Using a hydrothermal reaction, a novel 4f–5d isonicotinic acid complex {[Tb2(IA)6(H2O)4](Hg3Cl7)} n( nHgCl4)· nCl·4 nH3O (1, HIA = isonicotinic acid) was synthesized and it was characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. Compound 1 is characterized by a two-dimensional layer-like structure. The photoluminescence measurement using solid-state samples uncovered that it shows four emission peaks at 489, 546, 587, and 622 nm, of which the peak at 546 nm is the strongest. These peaks could be assigned to the 5 D4 → 7 F6, 5 D4 → 7 F5, 5 D4 → 7 F4, and 5 D4 → 7 F3 transitions of the Tb3+ ions, respectively. The energy transfer mechanism of the photoluminescence emission was described by means of the energy level scheme of the Tb3+ ions and the isonicotinic acid ligand. Compound 1 shows remarkable CIE (Commission Internationale de I’Éclairage) chromaticity coordinates of (0.3633, 0.5038) in the yellowish green region. Compound 1 possesses a wide semiconductor band gap of 2.97 eV, as unveiled by the solid-state UV-Vis diffuse reflectance experiment.