Quenching of the luminescent excited state of Eu3+
ions by C−H high-vibrational modes was studied by
deuteration of the encapsulating ligand and the solvent. Novel
polydentate hemispherands providing nine donor
atoms, which form overall neutral complexes with rare earth ions, were
synthesized in nine steps, allowing the easy
incorporation of deuterium atoms
(11a−d·Eu
3+
).
The introduction of tert-butyl groups at the aromatic
rings of the
ligand further increased the solubility of the complexes in organic
solvents (29·Eu
3+
and
34·Eu
3+
).
Photophysical
studies, viz., luminescence spectra and lifetime
measurements, revealed that significant quenching of the
Eu3+ excited
state is induced by nearby C−H vibrational modes. Substitution
of these quenching C−H modes for C−D bonds
in the azacrown bridge leads to an enhancement of the luminescent
lifetime by a factor of 1.5. C−H high-vibrational
modes of the pendant arms which are at a larger distance to the
Eu3+ ion than the azacrown bridge hydrogen
atoms
(determined from the MD calculations) are less efficient quenchers.
The number of coordinating methanol molecules
to 11a·Eu
3+
,
29·Eu
3+
, and
34·Eu
3+
estimated by the
“Horrocks equation” is 0.9, 1.2, and 1.9, respectively, as
was
predicted by MD calculations. Moreover, the experimental data show
that quenching of the excited state of well-shielded Eu3+ ions by the C−H modes of the ligand is of
the same order of magnitude as quenching by one O−H
mode.