MOF Based Sorption Sensors by Rare Earth Luminescence

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Florian Beuerle; Professor Dr. Claus Feldmann; Professor Dr. Klaus Müller-Buschbaum
• Subject Area: Inorganic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2008 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 79296465

The project focuses on a combination of two properties: luminescence and sorption, with their depen-dency rendering a new sensoring for sorption accessible via observation of an emission. In the prelim-inary period it was successfully shown that luminescence can be implemented into Ln-N-MOFs as an intrinsic property leading to the MOFs with the highest quantum efficiencies known today. It was also proven that microporosity is observed in combination with luminescence in the same MOF material and that luminescence can be quenched by certain adsorbants. To improve the selectivity, new MOFs with linkers suitable both as antennas as well as modifiers of the pore systems are aims of the second period. Novel inverse MOFs based on functionalized fullerenes are included in which the organic linker constitutes the connectivity centers interlinked by metal ions. This offers two perspectives: Intrinsic luminescence with improved quenching options upon sorption as well as the inclusion of luminescent nanoparticles into the inverse MOF. Functionalized fullerenes offer nanometer spacing from their own extensions in contrast to conventional MOFs and ZIFs that do not incorporate these particles. Lumi-nescence will be characterized by photoluminescence spectroscopy, quantum yield, decay determina-tions, and porosity utilizing BET and drifting balances for pressures up to 200 bar. Quantification of the dependency luminescence versus sorption to evaluate the sensor effect by simultaneous fluorescence / porosity studies is the final goal of the project.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1362: Porous Metal-Organic Frameworks