Graphene Oxide-Supported Lanthanide Metal–Organic Frameworks with Boosted Stabilities and Detection Sensitivities

The photoluminescent (PL) properties of lanthanide metal–organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs) are intrinsically subtle to water molecules, which remains the major challenge that severely limits their applications as fluorescent probes in aqueous samples. Herein novel composite fluorescent probes were prepared by growing Ln-MOFs (Tb-MOF, Eu-MOF, and Tb/Eu-MOF) on carboxylated porous graphene oxide (PGO-COOH). The 3D thorny composites presented significantly longer fluorescent lifetimes and higher quantum yields than that of the bare Ln-MOFs and exhibited long-term PL stabilities in aqueous samples up to 15 days. The stable and improved PL properties demonstrated that the highly hybrid composite structures protected the MOF components from the adverse effects of water. Furthermore, the unexpected antenna effect of the PGO-COOH substrate on Ln3+ was supposed to be another reason for the improved PL properties. The composites present ultralow detection limits as low as 5.6 nM for 2,4-dinitrotoluene and 2.3 nM for dipicolinic acid as turn-off and ratiometric fluorescent probes, respectively, which was attributed to the incoporation of PGO-COOH that dramatically enahnced inner filter effects and effectively protected the energy transfer process in the MOF components from the interference of the surrounding water. This work presents an effective strategy for creating ultrasensitive and stable fluorescent probes based on Ln-MOFs for applications in aqueous samples.