Eu3+/Tb3+ functionalized Bi-based metal–organic frameworks toward tunable white-light emission and fluorescence sensing applications

The rational design strategy to construct lanthanide ion functionalized metal organic frameworks (MOFs) has attracted tremendous attention as they are promising candidates for developing novel luminescence materials and optical sensors owing to their intense, long-lived and tunable luminescence performances. In this work, a series of Eu3+/Tb3+ singly doped or codoped bismuth-based MOFs were prepared under in situ facile solvothermal conditions using BiOBr nanoplates as bismuth resources. A red-green-blue-based trichromatic white-light emission can be finely achieved by modulating the doping ratio of Eu3+/Tb3+ in the blue-emitting Bi-MOF host material and such photoluminescence tuning can also be realized by controlling the excitation wavelength. In addition, the Eu3+/Tb3+ singly incorporated Bi-MOF can serve as a multifunctional fluorescent probe for sensing Fe3+ and Cr2O72− ions in aqueous solution, as well as small organic pollutants of acetone molecules, and their sensing mechanisms have also been analyzed. These lanthanide ion functionalized Bi-MOF materials exhibit great potential in exploring white-light emitting devices and construction of supersensitive multifunctional sensors.