New kinds of hybrid materials containing covalently bonded Tb3+ (Eu3+) complexes organically modified titania and alumina network via sol–gel process

Abstract This work focuses on the construction of a series of novel chemically bonded inorganic–organic rare earth hybrid materials using 3,4-bis(pyridin-4-ylmethoxy)benzoic acid as an organic bridge molecule that can both coordinate with rare earth ions and form an inorganic network with titanium isopropylate and aluminum isopropylate after cohydrolysis and copolycondensation through a sol–gel process. Measurements of the properties of these materials show that the terbium systems present high thermal stability and amorphous structure features. UV excitation in the organic component resulted in strong green emission from Tb 3+ ions due to an efficient ligand-to-metal energy-transfer mechanism. Graphical Abstract