Effects of ligand and guest solvent molecules on the luminescence properties of Tb : Eu-codoped indium-based MOFs

Luminescent lanthanide MOF materials are good sensors for analyzing some specific gas or volatile small molecules. However, some potential interference factors coming from the material itself, such as bridging ligands or guest solvent molecules entrapped in the channel of a MOF, were usually ignored during the sensing process. Here, two Tb : Eu-codoped indium-based MOFs with different bridging ligands were obtained for exploring the effects of ligand and guest solvent molecules on their luminescence properties. The current studies demonstrated that a ligand in the triplet state located between the excited states of Tb and Eu and polar guest solvent molecules encapsulated in the lanthanide MOF with such a type of ligand as the linker can interfere with the sensing process since they can substantially facilitate the energy transfer between Tb and Eu.