A Luminescent Probe for Highly Selective Cu2+ Sensing Using a Lanthanide-Doped Metal Organic Framework with Large Pores

Graphical Eu@ 1 , which is obtained by post-synthetic modification, as an excellent luminescent probe to detect Cu 2+ high selective through the emitting color changing from red to blue among 11 metal ions. The exploration of mechanism indicates Cu 2+ can replace Eu 3+ in the channels and small part of central ions without any structure disintegration of the framework. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous coordination polymer. Recently, some studies have been focused on the detection of various analytes using luminescent MOFs. In this study, an MOF, Eu@ 1 , is synthesized using ([Zn 3 (TAPB) 2 (CH 3 OH) 2 ]) ( 1 ) as a precursor to encapsulate Eu 3+ . It has large pores and excellent luminescent properties, and the quantum yield is up to 30.2%, which can be used as a luminescent probe for highly selective Cu 2+ sensing. It is simple and intuitive to use a lanthanide-doped MOF for highly sensitive sensing of Cu 2+ by the change of emitting color (from red to blue). The inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data indicate that Cu 2+ can easily be exchanged with Eu 3+ in 1D channels and replace a portion of the central ions. The good luminescent properties and visible color detectable to the naked eye demonstrate the potential application of this probe in colorimetric detection.