Lanthanide(iii)-cored supramolecular complexes with light-harvesting dendritic arrays for advanced photonics applications

We have designed and developed novel lanthanide(III)-cored supramolecular systems with light-harvesting dendritic arrays for advanced photonics applications such as planar waveguide amplifiers, plastic lasers, and light-emitting diodes. The supramolecular ligands, such as naphthalenes and metalloporphyrins, were specially designed and synthesized in order to provide enough coordination sites to form stable lanthanide(III)-chelated complexes. The energy levels of the supramolecular ligands were tailored to maintain the effective energy transfer process from supramolecular ligands to lanthanide(III) ions for getting a higher optical amplification gain. Also, efficient energy transfer pathways for the sensitization of lanthanide ions by supramolecular ligands were investigated, for the first time to the best our knowledge. Furthermore, to enhance the optophysical properties of novel supramolecular systems, aryl ether-functionalized dendrons as photon antennas have been incorporated into lanthanide-cored supramolecular systems, yielding novel lanthanide-cored dendritic materials with efficient site-isolation effect.