Tuning the luminescence of two 3d–4f metal–organic frameworks for the fast response and highly selective detection of aniline

Abstract

Two 3D solvent-stable zinc(II)–lanthanide(III) heterometallic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) {[(CH₃)₂NH₂]₂[Zn₂Ln₂(FDA)₆(DMF)₂]·2DMF}_n [Ln = Eu (Zn-Eu) and Tb (Zn-Tb); H₂FDA = furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid] based on Zn₂Ln₂(COO)₁₀ tetrametallic clusters and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid have been successfully synthesized. These MOFs can serve as luminescent sensors for the fast response and highly selective detection of aniline via luminescence quenching. More importantly, a linear correlation is observed between their luminescence and the low concentration of aniline and the detection limits of aniline are 7.5 μmol L⁻¹ for Zn-Eu and 5.2 μmol L⁻¹ for Zn-Tb.