A new 3D lanthanide metal–organic framework Eu(BPT)(DMF)(H2O)•(H2O)0.5] (1) has been synthesized by self-assembly of Eu(III) ions and ligand biphenyl-3, 4′, 5-tricarboxylate under solvothermal reaction conditions. X-ray crystallography reveals that 1 exhibits a (3, 6)-connected topology, with dinuclear europium clusters as 6-connected nodes and C2-symmetric ligands BPT as 3-connected nodes. In addition, the luminescence sensitization of 1 via excitation of the ligand is highly efficient.