Research Projects

Photoluminescent sensing techniques have gained attention due to their ease and high sensitivity. Materials like organic dyes, quantum dots, carbon dots, polymers, fluorescent lanthanide organic framework (Ln-MOF), lanthanide coordination polymers, and lanthanide metal nano-particles have been used for detecting heavy metal ions, anions, explosives, nucleotides, enzymes, and proteins. Lanthanide-luminescent materials are preferred due to their narrow emission band with pure color, making them ideal for selective detection and quantification of analytes. However, designing Ln(III)-ligand complexes with high emission and thermal and mechanical stability in an aqueous environment is challenging. To address this issue, researchers aim to synthesize palindromic, open cyclic-ligands to isolate lanthanide metal complexes and incorporate them into a polymer matrix to enhance thermal and mechanical stability. The free functional groups of ligand and polymer can selectively coordinate with the analyte. The proposed approach aims to dope lanthanide complexes with commercially available polymers for sensing and optoelectronic applications. The composite can trap heavy metal ions and toxic anions by inserting the Ln(III)-polymer composite film into contaminated water, and the polymer composite can facilitate the construction of light-emitting devices, specifically white light emitters.