In-situ cation exchange enhances room temperature phosphorescence of a family of metal-organic frameworks

The rational designability and chemical tunability of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are enabling tributes to efficaciously enhance their room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) performance. A family of stable anionic MOFs, [Zn2(4,5-ImDC)2]M2 (NKU-132, M = (CH3)2NH2 or (CH2CH3)2NH2), featuring significant RTP have been synthesized. By rational cation selection and in-situ replacement from dimethylammonium to diethylammonium, the phosphorescence lifetime is increased from 30.88 to 126.3 ms, along with less sensitivity to air. This work provides an anti-quenching and lifetime tuning example for RTP-MOF materials via facile host-guest chemistry.