Real‐Time In Situ Volatile Organic Compound Sensing by a Dual‐Emissive Polynuclear Ln‐MOF with Pronounced LnIII Luminescence Response

Abstract

AbstractLanthanide metal–organic frameworks (Ln‐MOFs) are promising for luminescence detection of volatile organic compound (VOC) vapors, but usually suffer from the silent or quenched Ln3+ emission. Herein, we report a new dual‐emissive Eu‐MOF composed of the coordinatively unsaturated Eu9 clusters that afford abundant open metal sites to form a confined “binding pocket” to facilitate the preconcentration and recognition of VOCs. Single‐crystal structural analyses reveal that specific analytes can replace the OH oscillators in the first coordination sphere of Eu3+ and form a unique hydrogen‐bonding second‐sphere adduct tying adjacent Eu9 clusters together to minimize their nonradiative vibrational decay. With the promoted Eu3+ luminescence, the MOF realizes real‐time in situ visual sensing of THF vapor (<1 s) and shows a quantitative ratiometric response to the vapor pressure with a limit of detection down to 17.33 Pa. Also, it represents a top‐performing ratiometric luminescent thermometer.