Tb(iii) postsynthetic functional coordination polymer coatings on ZnO micronanoarrays and their application in small molecule sensing

A series of luminescent coatings of Tb3+ functionalized coordination polymers (CPs) consolidated by different multi-carboxylic ligands [1,4-benzenedicarboxylate, 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate] are fabricated on ZnO micronanoarrays. These hybrid luminescent coatings of Tb(III)@CPs/ZnO (Tb(III) functionalized CP/ZnO) are prepared by solvothermal synthesis and a postsynthetic functionalization (PSF) approach. Tb(III)@MOF-5/ZnO exhibits a highly detectable luminescence response for acetone molecules, and its structure, composition and morphology are characterized by XRD, EDS, ICP and SEM, respectively. It is first demonstrated that a lanthanide ion functionalized hybrid micronano-CP/ZnO coating is used as a small molecule sensor successfully.