Breathing Europium-Terbium Co-doped Luminescent MOF as a Broad-Range Ratiometric Thermometer with a Contrasting Temperature-Intensity Relationship.

Abstract

Solvothermal reactions of lanthanide salts and a semirigid tripodal Htatab (4,4',4″--triazine-1,3,5-triyltri--aminobenzoic acid) ligand in mixed water and -methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) generated novel breathing MOFs [Ln(tatab)]·solvent (Ln = Eu in -Eu, Tb in -Tb, EuTb in -EuTb). The framework of was contracted upon removal of guests to form partly desolvated [Ln (tatab)]·3.7HO·2.5NMP (). Single-crystal X-ray analyses demonstrated that has the breathing ability to spontaneously release guests and maintain the same topology. In contrast to as-synthesized , the cell volume of decreased markedly upon removal of the guests. Different from linear dicarboxylates, the semirigid tripodal tatab ligand is bridged to an inorganic Ln-O chain, limiting the rotation around the O-O-axis of carboxylate. The breathing mechanism is based on the flexible C-N-C angles of amide bonds in the tatab ligand, causing a change in the solvent-accessible volume in the framework. Interestingly, the luminescence color of breathing co-doped lanthanide MOF -EuTb is blue-shifted and turned from orange to green with an increase in temperature, which can be attributed to a change in the relative intensity of Tb and Eu emissions, and is quite different from that observed for the reported related compounds. The breathing co-doped lanthanide MOF -EuTb can be applied as a high-sensitivity ratiometric thermometer in a broad temperature from 90 to 300 K.