Bifunctional color-tuning luminescent Ln@Zr-MOFs for white LEDs and sensitive, ultrafast detection of nitrobenzene in aqueous media

作者：Cao, Mengmeng; Xia, Chao^*; Liu, Yunpeng; Xia, Jinfeng; Jiang, Danyu; Zhou, Guohong; Xuan, Tongtong^*; Li, Huili^*

来源：Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 2022, 10(5): 1690-1697.

DOI：10.1039/d1tc05243h

• METAL-ORGANIC FRAMEWORK
• WATER
• FE3+

Rapid and quantitative detection of nitrobenzene (NB) in wastewater is of great significance to protect the natural environment and human health. In this work, bifunctional Ln@Zr-MOFs based on UiO-66 were successfully fabricated by partially replacing terephthalic acid (H2BDC) ligands with m-phthalic acid (m-H2BDC) ligands and post-synthetic modification (PSM) with Ln(3+) (Ln(3+) = Eu3+, Tb3+). The "antenna effect" of the m-H2BDC ligands makes Ln@Zr-MOFs exhibit the characteristic emissions of Ln(3+). By adjusting the amount and type of Ln(3+), controllable color-tuning emissions can be easily realized, which endows them with a great application prospect for white LEDs. On the other hand, Eu-10@Zr-MOFs can serve as a turn-off fluorescent switch of NB because the red emission from Eu3+ can be easily quenched by NB through a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process between NB and its ligands, and as a result, NB is successfully recognized. Particularly, Eu-10@Zr-MOFs as a fluorescent probe have shown many appealing properties, such as high sensitivity (limit of detection is 1.04 mu M, limit of quantification is 3.48 mu M, and K-sv = 24459.71 M-1), quick response (less than 60 s), a broad response window (0-180 mu M), excellent selectivity, and strong anti-interference ability. The real detection results of NB concentration in natural water samples have demonstrated that the reported Eu-10@Zr-MOFs are a potential fluorescent material that can precisely and sensitively perform fluorescence sensing of NB.

• 单位
  中国科学院; 厦门大学