ABSTRACT Near‐infrared (NIR) luminescent rare‐earth complexes are highly sought‐after for bioimaging and optical communication due to their distinctive optical characteristics. Herein, a series of Nd 3+ and Yb 3+ complexes were synthesized via a multistep protocol: first, forming an intermediate ligand–metal framework from appropriate precursors; then, coordinating with NdCl 3 ·6H 2 O or YbCl 3 ·6H 2 O; and finally, modifying with specific organic reagents. Their NIR luminescence properties were systematically investigated, revealing characteristic emission bands corresponding to the f‐f electronic transitions of Nd 3+ and Yb 3+ . The energy transfer processes within the complex structures and the influence of the ligand environment on emission intensity and lifetime were analyzed. These results offer insights into designing efficient rare‐earth NIR luminescent materials, which show promise for NIR‐based applications such as bioimaging and optical communication.
Ye et al. (Thu,) studied this question.