posted on 2020-04-16, 15:03authored byArturo Gamonal, Chen Sun, A. Lorenzo Mariano, Estefania Fernandez-Bartolome, Elena Guerrero-SanVicente, Bess Vlaisavljevich, Javier Castells-Gil, Carlos Marti-Gastaldo, Roberta Poloni, Reinhold Wannemacher, Juan Cabanillas-Gonzalez, Jose Sanchez Costa
A novel
gas sensing mechanism exploiting lanthanide luminescence
modulation upon NO2 adsorption is demonstrated here. Two
isostructural lanthanide-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)
are used, including an amino group as the sensitive recognition center
for NO2 molecules. The transfer of energy from the organic
ligands to Ln is strongly dependent on the presence of NO2, resulting in an unprecedented photoluminescent sensing scheme.
Thereby, NO2 exposition triggers either a reversible enhancement
or a decrease in the luminescence intensity, depending on the lanthanide
ion (Eu or Tb). Our experimental studies combined with density functional
theory and complete active space self-consistent field calculations
provide an understanding of the nature and effects of NO2 interactions within the MOFs and the signal transduction mechanism.