TY - JOUR
T1 - Aggregation-Induced Emission-Responsive Metal-Organic Frameworks
AU - Dong, Jinqiao
AU - Shen, Pingchuan
AU - Ying, Shaoming
AU - Li, Zi Jian
AU - Yuan, Yi Di
AU - Wang, Yuxiang
AU - Zheng, Xiaoyan
AU - Peh, Shing Bo
AU - Yuan, Hongye
AU - Liu, Guoliang
AU - Cheng, Youdong
AU - Pan, Yutong
AU - Shi, Leilei
AU - Zhang, Jian
AU - Yuan, Daqiang
AU - Liu, Bin
AU - Zhao, Zujin
AU - Tang, Ben Zhong
AU - Zhao, Dan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2020/8/11
Y1 - 2020/8/11
N2 - Although many studies on luminescent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been reported for chemical sensing applications, it has yet to be realized in MOFs the precise linearity control over photophysical characteristics and sensing sensitivity at the molecular level for a fundamental understanding of the structure-property relationships. Here we demonstrate the first example of aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-responsive MOFs with precise linearity control of photophysics and chemical sensing. We employ a multivariate strategy to tune the number of AIE molecular rotors (dynamic phenyl rings) in a MOF system by varying the ratio of tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based organic linker, leading to highly tunable photophysical characteristics (e.g., maximum emission peak, quantum yield, and optical band gap) featuring linear correlations with linker content. Importantly, the sensing sensitivity of these dynamic MOFs can be enhanced by increasing the number of AIE molecular rotors with perfect linearity control, as systematically investigated by fluorescence responsive to temperature, viscosity, guest molecular size, as well as theoretical calculations. Our study shows that the sensing sensitivity of the AIE-responsive MOF in this study (termed as NUS-13-100%) is better than those of our previously reported materials. Significantly, the observed linear relationship between emission intensity and molecular weight of polystyrene as the analyte suggests that such AIE-responsive MOFs could be used as molecular sensors for fluorescence-based determination of polymer molecular weight. Eventually, the optical sensing device containing NUS-13-100% shows a perfect linearity response with high sensitivity for the detection of trace toxic benzene vapor. In short, our work paves the way toward porous MOFs containing AIE molecular rotors with a versatile responsive emission mechanism and suitable pore size/geometry for broad applications in chemical sensing and environmental monitoring.
AB - Although many studies on luminescent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been reported for chemical sensing applications, it has yet to be realized in MOFs the precise linearity control over photophysical characteristics and sensing sensitivity at the molecular level for a fundamental understanding of the structure-property relationships. Here we demonstrate the first example of aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-responsive MOFs with precise linearity control of photophysics and chemical sensing. We employ a multivariate strategy to tune the number of AIE molecular rotors (dynamic phenyl rings) in a MOF system by varying the ratio of tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based organic linker, leading to highly tunable photophysical characteristics (e.g., maximum emission peak, quantum yield, and optical band gap) featuring linear correlations with linker content. Importantly, the sensing sensitivity of these dynamic MOFs can be enhanced by increasing the number of AIE molecular rotors with perfect linearity control, as systematically investigated by fluorescence responsive to temperature, viscosity, guest molecular size, as well as theoretical calculations. Our study shows that the sensing sensitivity of the AIE-responsive MOF in this study (termed as NUS-13-100%) is better than those of our previously reported materials. Significantly, the observed linear relationship between emission intensity and molecular weight of polystyrene as the analyte suggests that such AIE-responsive MOFs could be used as molecular sensors for fluorescence-based determination of polymer molecular weight. Eventually, the optical sensing device containing NUS-13-100% shows a perfect linearity response with high sensitivity for the detection of trace toxic benzene vapor. In short, our work paves the way toward porous MOFs containing AIE molecular rotors with a versatile responsive emission mechanism and suitable pore size/geometry for broad applications in chemical sensing and environmental monitoring.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85091034232
U2 - 10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c02277
DO - 10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c02277
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091034232
SN - 0897-4756
VL - 32
SP - 6706
EP - 6720
JO - Chemistry of Materials
JF - Chemistry of Materials
IS - 15
ER -