Recent progress in luminescent materials based on lanthanide complexes intercalated synthetic clays

Interest in lanthanide complexes in the synthetic clays remains growing considerably during the last decades because of the attractive features of the individuals. Synthetic clays like Laponite^® and Aminoclay show great potentials in building up the luminescent hybrid materials due to their obvious advantages such as high purity, high dispersibility (or solubility) in water to yield translucent gels and clear aqueous solution. Additionally, their strong adsorption capacity for non-polar molecules or complexes is favorable to the formation of water-soluble and aqueous processable luminescent materials. This feature article summarizes the latest developments in the design and preparation of highly luminescent organic-inorganic hybrid materials with excellent aqueous process ability based on lanthanide complexes intercalated synthetic clays.