Tunable Light Emission and Multiresponsive Luminescent Sensitivities in Aqueous Solutions of Two Series of Lanthanide Metal–Organic Frameworks Based on Structurally Related Ligands

Two series of lanthanide metal–organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs) from two structurally related flexible carboxylate-based ligands were solvothermally synthesized. H3L2 with additional −CH2− group provides more flexibility and different coordination modes and conformations compared with H3L1. As a result, 2-Ln MOFs are modulated from two-dimensional kgd of 1-Ln to three-dimensional rtl topological frameworks and further achieve enhanced chemical stability. The Eu- and Tb-MOFs exhibit strong fluorescent emission at the solid state because of the antenna effect of the ligands. Interestingly, the emissions can be tuned by simply doping Eu3+ and Tb3+ of different concentrations within the EuxTb1–x MOFs. Notably, 2-Ln MOFs realize nearly white light emission by means of a trichromatic approach (red of Eu(III), green of Tb(III), and blue of the H3L2 ligand). Furthermore, 2-Ln MOFs also exhibit water stability and demonstrate high selective and sensitive sensing activities toward Fe(III) and Cr(VI) in aqueous solutions. The results further highlight the importance of the ligand flexibility on tuning MOF structures with improved structural stability and ion-sensing properties.