A new β-diketone ligand 1-(2-thienyl)-3-(p-phenylethynylphenyl)-1,3-propanedione (HTPP) was designed and synthesized. Both Eu(TPP)3phen and Tb(TPP)3phen have been synthesized by the reaction of HTPP and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) with Eu(III) and Tb(III) respectively and characterized by IR spectra, chemical analysis, elemental analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. At room temperature, under UV light excitation, the Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes exhibited characteristic emission of the central ions. It was found that HTPP ligand had significant effect on the luminescent property of the rare earth complexes, which was interpreted by quantum chemistry calculation.

Key words: β-diketone, lanthanide complex, luminescent property