Dye@ZIF-8 as dual-emission luminescence temperature sensors

Improving ZIF-8 temperature sensitivity has important significance by adjusting the channel properties. In this work, a series of efficient and stable dual-wavelength composites sensors are obtained by encapsulating organic fluorescent dyes (rhodamine B (RhB), fluorescein (FL), rhodamine 6G (R6G) and acriflavine (Acf)) into ZIF-8, which are named as RhB@ZIF-8, FL@ZIF-8, R6G@ZIF-8, Acf@ZIF-8, respectively. The composites are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetry (TGA) and luminescent measurements. The composites of Dye@ZIF-8 exhibit exceptional characteristics, including high stability, reusability, and high yield, and effectively overcome the inherent issue of dye quenching due to aggregation in solid materials. In the temperature sensitivity tests, the relative sensitivity range of R6G@ZIF-8 is 1.618-4.583%°C−1 (temperature range of 70-110 °C). This paper provides an idea to develop ratiometric luminescent thermometers by elaborately combining the host and guest units, which is very conducive to a large number of repetitions and research in the future.