Publications

Abstract not provided.

Luminescent lanthanide decanoate nanoparticles (LnC10NPs; Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Er) with spherical morphology (<100 nm) have been synthesizedviaa facile microwave (MWV) method using Ln(NO3)3·xH2O, ethanol/water, and decanoic acid. These hybrid nanomaterials adopt a lamellar structure consisting of inorganic Ln3+layers separated by a decanoate anion bilayer and exhibit liquid crystalline (LC) phases during melting. The particle size, crystalline structure, and LC behavior were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and powder X-ray diffraction (ambient and heated). Thermal analysis indicated the formation of Smectic A LC phases by LnC10nanoparticles, with the smaller lanthanides (Ln = Sm, Gd, Er) displaying additional solid intermediate and Smectic C phases. The formation of LC phases by the smaller Ln3+suggests that these nanoscale materials have vastly different thermal properties than their bulk counterparts, which do not exhibit LC behavior. Photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed the LnC10NPs to be highly optically active, producing strong visible emissions that corresponded to expected electronic transitions by the various Ln3+ions. Under long-wave UV irradiation (λ= 365 nm), bright visible luminescence was observed for colloidal suspensions of Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, and ErC10NPs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported synthesis of nanoscale metal alkanoates, the first report of liquid crystalline behavior by any decanoate of lanthanides smaller than Nd, and the first observation of strong visible luminescence by non-vitrified lanthanide alkanoates.