Preparation,characterization and luminescent properties of dense nano‐silica hybrids loaded with 1,8‐naphthalic anhydride

Novel luminescent dense nano‐silica hybrid materials (DNSS) modified with different amounts of (3‐aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and 1,8‐naphthalic anhydride (NA) were successfully synthesized via two steps combined with post‐grafting methods. Powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD), N₂‐sorption analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and elemental analysis, as well as time‐resolved decays were employed to characterize the resultant hybrid materials. The results revealed that luminescent organic molecules had been successfully loaded onto the amine‐modified surface of nano‐silica spheres. In addition, their fluorescence intensity and characteristic peak of emission spectra changed with increasing amount of APTES and NA additive. In particular, the characteristic peak showed a red shift from 390 to 450 nm, however, this was inconsistent with results calculated on the basis of the elemental analysis data, most probably because of the dispersion behaviors of NA molecules from the aggregating to the monolayer state. These observations demonstrated the existence of a quantum confinement effectiveness of NA–DNSS samples, and therefore a possible mechanism was put forward. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.