Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
Time-resolved spectroscopy of poly(ethylene) oxide (PEO) and poly(propylene) oxide (PPO) electrolytes containing different concentrations of Eu3+ and Nd3+ ions is reported. A description of the main luminescence features of the Nd3+ electrolytes is also presented. Lifetimes regarding the main transitions of the luminescence spectra (5D0 → 7F1,2 and 4D3/2 → 4I11/2 for Eu3+ and Nd3+, respectively) are determined and are presented as a function of temperature in the range of 13 to 310 K. The order of magnitude of the values obtained at room temperature (0.2–0.6 ms and ≈0.7 ms for Eu3+ and Nd3+, respectively) is a further indication of the technological potential of these new polymeric materials. For the Eu3+ ion the thermally activated quenching of the 5D0 → 7F2 luminescence is discussed in terms of the observed energy superposition between the 5D0,1 levels and the ligands-to-metal charge-transfer states.