Targeted Synthesis of a 3D Crystalline Porous Aromatic Framework with Luminescence Quenching Ability for Hazardous and Explosive Molecules

A three-dimensional (3D) crystalline porous aromatic framework (PAF-15) with high fluorescence quantum yield was synthesized through assembling luminescent building blocks of tetra(4-dihydroxyborylphenyl)germanium (TBPGe) and 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene (HHTP). Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis displays the high crystallinity of PAF-15. The topology known from the PXRD of the experimental and simulated patterns is ctn type. The Ar sorption measurement on activated PAF-15 results in the high surface area (BET model: 747 m2 g–1). Significantly, PAF-15 exhibits high luminescence quenching ability by hazardous and explosive molecules, such as nitrobenzene, 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), and may serve as a new sensing material. It should be caused by the introduction of germanium into crystalline PAFs skeletons which may bring up a low reduction potential and low-lying LUMO and provide the amplification of electron delocalization.