In this work we investigate a mesoporous silica (MS) decorated with dipyridyl-pyridazine (dppz) ligands and further grafted with a mixture of Eu3+ /Tb3+ ions (28.45%:71.55%), which was investigated as a potential thermometer in the 10-360 K temperature range. The MS material was prepared employing a hetero Diels-Alder reaction: 3,6-di(2-pyridyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine was reacted with the double bonds of vinyl-silica (vSilica) followed by an oxidation procedure. We explore using the dppz-vSilica material to obtain visible emitting luminescent materials and for obtaining a luminescent thermometer when grafted with Eu3+ /Tb3+ ions. For the dppz-vSilica@Eu,Tb material absolute sensitivity Sa of 0.011 K-1 (210 K) and relative sensitivity Sr of 1.32 %K-1 (260 K) were calculated showing good sensing capability of the material. Upon temperature change from 10 K to 360 K the emission color of the material changed gradually from yellow to red.
Keywords: organic-functionalized silica; ratiometric sensors; temperature sensors.
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