Preparation of Tb(Pht)₃phen/rubber composites and characterization of their fluorescent properties

A rare-earth ternary complex compound, Tris-(terbium-phthalate)-l, 10-phenanthroline Terbium (III) [Tb(Pht)3Phen], was synthesized through the reaction among a rare-earth oxide (Tb4O7), potassium hydrogen phthalate and phenanthroline, and its structure was characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser particle size (LPS), IR, and X-ray diffraction. This was the first time that Tb(Pht)₃Phen/rubber [nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) or methyl vinyl silicone rubber (SiR)] composites had been prepared through mechanical mixing processing. SEM revealed that the dimensions of Tb(Pht)₃Phen dispersed in matrix rubber were much smaller than those of the original particles of the complex compound. The Tb(Pht) ₃Phen/rubber composites showed much better luminescent performance than the Tb(Pht)₃Phen complex compound. The fluorescent intensities of the Tb(Pht)₃Phen/rubber composites were strongly dependant on the concentration of Tb(Pht)₃Phen, and 30 phr was the optimal concentration for both the Tb(Pht)₃Phen/NBR and Tb(Pht) ₃Phen/SiR composites. Within the concentration range of Tb(Pht) ₃Phen used in this work, the fluorescent intensions of the SiR composites were stronger than those of their NBR counterparts.