Luminescent thermometer based on Eu 3+ /Tb 3+ ‐organic‐functionalized mesoporous silica

In this work we investigate a mesoporous silica (MS) decorated with dipyridyl‐pyridazine (dppz) ligands and further grafted with a mixture of Eu 3+ /Tb 3+ ions (28.45%:71.55%), which was investigated as a potential thermometer in the 10–360 K temperature range. The MS material was prepared employing a hetero Diels–Alder reaction: 3,6‐di(2‐pyridyl)‐1,2,4,5‐tetrazine was reacted with the double bonds of vinyl‐silica (vSilica) followed by an oxidation procedure. We explore using the dppz‐vSilica material to obtain visible emitting luminescent materials and for obtaining a luminescent thermometer when grafted with Eu 3+ /Tb 3+ ions. For the dppz‐vSilica@Eu,Tb material absolute sensitivity S a of 0.011 K −1 (210 K) and relative sensitivity S r of 1.32 %K −1 (260 K) were calculated showing good sensing capability of the material. Upon temperature change from 10 K to 360 K the emission color of the material changed gradually from yellow to red.