A new complex europium doped adenosine triphosphate: Synthesis, band gap energy, and electronic properties investigations

Complex made from natural constituents such as nucleotides are desirable candidates because they easily bond
with metals in non-covalent interactions. Complex of lanthanide and nucleotide materials have magnetic and
optical properties that can be used for various applications such as diagnostics, tissue scaffolding and targeted
drug release. This study uses a nucleotide in the form of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) as a ligand that can
improve the optical properties of europium by comparing the effect of 4-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazine etha
nesulfonic acid (HEPES) in its synthesis. Complexes were synthesized with various metal concentrations and
characterized by infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform to determine the functional groups of compounds,
characterization by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy was performed to determine the best mole ratio, band gap
energy and Urbach energy, HOMO-LUMO determination and electronic properties of compounds. The results of
the FT-IR spectroscopy characterization where Europium (Eu3+) coordinates with oxygen on the phosphate
group and nitrogen on the adenine base. The mole ratio of Eu-ATP in water and HEPES is 1:2, the band gap
energy of Eu-ATP with water is 3.83 eV while HEPES is 2.76 eV, this shows that the buffer has a significant effect
on the band gap energy. The Eu-ATP complex is a semiconductor hydrogel with potential for optical devices in
the future.