Water-induced luminescence improvement in a lanthanide β-diketone complex for monitoring water purity

Water-caused luminescence quenching is a well-known and intractable issue for luminescence lanthanide complexes, greatly confining their broad application as sensing and displaying devices in water system. Herein, an anionic and coordination-saturated lanthanide complex with a nanosheet-like structure has been prepared. It exhibits excellent photophysical properties both in solid state and in aqueous suspension. Noteworthily, a 13% improvement for sensitization efficiency from organic ligand to central lanthanide ion has been realized, indicating an exceptional phenomenon of water-induced luminescence improvement which is rarely reported previously. Moreover, the aqueous suspension of as-prepared luminophore could act as a chemo-sensor responding to various organic solvents in water. Both of water-induced luminescence improvement and extended sensing behavior in this work provide a new platform for developing highly performant and practical luminescent materials in the water system.