Aiming at ammonia gas detection at ambient temperature,
phenoxyacetic
acid (Hpoa) and 2,5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (H2pydc)
were employed to construct the isostructural [LnIII(poa)(2,5-pydc)(H2O)2]·3H2O (LnIII = EuIII (I), GdIII (II), and
TbIII (III)). Their single crystal structures
and photophysical properties as well as the triplet state energies
of the sensitizers were characterized. Robustness and responses of I and its composite film with poly(vinyl alcohol) (I/PVA) toward water, ammonia, and common volatile organic compounds
were examined. The substantial quenching of EuIII:5D0 → 7F
J
by only ammonia was disclosed, and the underlying mechanism
was postulated based on experimental and computational studies. Referring
to EuIII:5D0 → 7F2, the response R parameter was defined.
Under ambient temperature (25–35 °C) and humidity (45–55%
RH), a linear dependence of R on ammonia concentration
(0.50–10.0 ppm) was obtained from I/PVA. Based
on the calibration method, the sensitivity (4.04%·ppm–1), detection limit (0.14 ppm), percentage recoveries (103–111%
for 3.50, 6.50, and 8.50 ppm), and relative standard deviation (1.5–8.2%)
were determined. The reuse of the film for at least 10 cycles was
demonstrated with 95–97% repeatability. Limitation of the detection
by extreme humidity was presented.