Rational construction of luminescent Eu-doped Y-MOF for ratiometric temperature sensing

Introducing lanthanide(iii) ions into a MOF structure is one of the most effective strategies to construct luminescent MOFs with multiple emission centers for fluorescent applications. In this work, a functionalized Eu3+-doped Y-MOF (Eu@SNNU-325) was constructed by using a cation exchange strategy. The photoluminescence result shows that Eu@SNNU-325 exhibits a unique emission spectrum, namely, the absence of the organic ligand peak and the very strong Y3+/Eu3+ characteristic peaks. Interestingly, the smart luminescent Eu@SNNU-325 as a ratiometric thermometer for temperature sensing has good self-calibrated ability and a high maximum relative sensitivity (Sm) value (1.2% K-1 at 260 K). This work presents the construction of a smart Eu3+-functionalized Y-MOF thermometer through a cation exchange strategy, providing a good idea for the future development and design of Y-MOF thermometers. A dual-emitter luminescent Eu-doped Y-MOF was successfully constructed by using a cation exchange strategy. As a self-calibrated thermometer, this Eu-doped MOF exhibits excellent fluorescence performance for wide-range temperature sensing.