Photoluminiscent manganese nanoparticles from solid state polyphosphazenes organometallic derivatives

Abstract

Pyrolysis in air at 800 degrees C of [{NP(OC12H10)}(0.6){NP(OC6H4PPh2 center dot(pi-CH3C5H4)-Mn(CO)(2))(2)}(0.4)] (n) (1) in the solid state affords product 2 containing nanoclusters of Mn2P2O7 with sizes ranging from 50 to 90 nm and averaging about 74 nm. The egg-shape of the unpyrolyzed organometallic polymer is retained but with increased particle size after pyrolysis. The pyrolytic material shows near-infrared photoluminescence attributed to the emission of tetrahedral Mn2+ embedded in a matrix of Mn2P2O7. The solid-state pyrolysis of organometallic derivatives of polyphosphazenes may be a useful and general route to nano-structured Mn2P2O7.