Rapid microwave synthesis and photoluminescence properties of rare earth-based coordination polymer core-shell particles

Coordination polymer (CP) core-shell particles, with Eu-based CP as the core and La-based CP as the shell, were prepared using a facile microwave heating method. Pyridine-2, 5-dicarboxylic acid (PDA) was selected as the organic building blo, and DMF was used as the solvent. SEM and TEM images show that the resultant cores are nanospheres with diameters of 200–400 nm. Products with different shell thickness were prepared. The luminescence properties of the core-shell structures were studied and the influence of the La-based CP shell on the photoluminescence properties of the core were investigated. The fluorescence intensity and lifetime of the Eu-based CP core were varied with the addition of shell thickness. Both of them increases at first and then decreases with the increase of shell thickness.