Electrospinning Fabrication of Europium-Chain@polymer Nanofiber Films for Visual Detection of the Fe3+ Ion

A ternary europium(III) coordination polymer, namely, [Eu(ctpy)(tta)2]n (1) (Hctpy = 4′-carboxy-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine and Htta = 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone), was obtained and exhibits a 1D chain structure. 1-Eu emits intense red light, which can act as a luminescent dopant to be immobilized into polymers to prepare nanofiber films by an electrospinning technique. Subsequently, ternary europium-chain@polymer nanofiber films (1-Eu@PAN and 1-Eu@PMMA, PAN = polyacrylonitrile, PMMA = poly(methyl methacrylate)) as functional films have been successfully fabricated. These nanofiber films possess excellent mechanical strength and photo-/thermal stability, as well as emit luminous red light. The luminescent investigation indicates that the maximum intensity of the 5D0 → 7F2 transition of EuIII ion occurs in 1-Eu@PAN and 1-Eu@PMMA nanofiber films with 10 wt % 1-Eu loading. In addition, 10% 1-Eu@PAN nanofiber film can be used as a recyclable sensor for detecting Fe3+ ion in aqueous solution because 10% 1-Eu@PAN nanofiber film have good recyclability and selectivity. Electrospinning technique is an effective strategy to fabricate lanthanide coordination polymer-encapsulated polymer fiber films and to contribute to develop sensors.