SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL CENTER science idea

Scientists from the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute with colleagues from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the A.N.Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, the N.D.Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry and the N.E. NS Kurnakov synthesized new materials based on the rare earth metal ytterbium. They are capable of emitting infrared light with record efficiency in response to exposure to ultraviolet light or electric current. This effect was achieved thanks to a light-collecting "coat" with naphthalene fragments and fluorine atoms. Based on their development, the authors have already created prototypes of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), which are becoming more and more popular in various electronic devices.
Ytterbium is a rare earth element, the compounds of which, in response to ultraviolet irradiation, glow in the near infrared (that is, photoluminescence). This makes it very popular as an active component in materials for lasers, optical fibers for communication lines, and other devices. However, ytterbium ions (Yb3 +), due to their structural features, poorly absorb ultraviolet light, so materials based on them do not show high efficiency.
As a solution, the scientists proposed placing the ytterbium ion in a shell of specially selected organic molecules. Scientists have included fragments of naphthalene and fluorine atoms in it. The former intensively absorb ultraviolet light, and the latter serve as an insulator so that the energy transferred to the ytterbium ion is not scattered into the environment.
The material turned out to be capable of photoluminescence with a record efficiency value for similar substances - 3.2%. As it turned out in the course of experiments, it can also glow under the influence of an electric current. This greatly expands the possibilities of its application: for example, such compounds can serve as an emitting layer of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are gaining popularity in various optoelectronic devices. Based on their development, the authors created and tested a prototype of such devices, the resulting OLEDs showed good results.
“Our new materials are unique in that they are compatible with any of today's OLED manufacturing technologies, such as inkjet printing or vacuum spraying. Due to this, they can be used to manufacture various optoelectronic devices that use infrared radiation - for example, emitting elements of photonic microcircuits, sources of infrared radiation for fiber communication, integrated directly into a semiconductor chip, special optical fibers, "says Ilya, project manager for a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. Taidakov, Doctor of Chemistry, Leading Researcher at the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The research results are published in the journal Dyes and Pigments. The research was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), a press release of the foundation briefly tells about it.
PHOTO: Schematic representation of the coordination compound of ytterbium © Ilya Taydakov
Source: polit.ru, sci-dig.ru