Recent Advances in Luminescent Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Frameworks: Structures, Photophysical Properties, Applications

Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) have aroused interest due to their applications in gas storage and separation and proton conduction. Much effort has been focused on developing stable HOFs with permanent porosity. Recently, more attention has been paid to the development of luminescent HOFs. At present, a systematic study on luminescent HOFs is lacking. Here, recent advances in luminescent HOFs are highlighted. The construction of luminescent HOFs, luminescent properties of HOFs, and corresponding applications are discussed in detail. According to luminescent properties, luminescent HOFs can be divided into fluorescent HOFs and room-temperature phosphorescent HOFs. In addition, HOFs with color-tunable luminescence, stimuli-responsive luminescence, or mechanoluminescence are also introduced at great length. These distinctive features endow HOFs with wide applications in chemical sensing, microlasers, stimuli-responsive sensing, oxygen sensing, data encryption, and so on. This review not only provides the basic principle of designing luminescent HOFs but also points out the research perspectives of luminescent HOFs in the future. This review lays the foundation for developing luminescent HOFs, thus broadening the applications of HOFs and enriching luminescent porous materials.

Automated summary

This paper highlights recent advances in luminescent hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs), including their construction, luminescent properties, and applications. Luminescent HOFs can be divided into fluorescent HOFs and room-temperature phosphorescent HOFs, with additional features such as color-tunable luminescence, stimuli-responsive luminescence, or mechanoluminescence. These distinctive features enable a wide range of applications in chemical sensing, microlasers, stimuli-responsive sensing, oxygen sensing, and data encryption. This review not only provides the basic principles of designing luminescent HOFs, but also highlights future research perspectives, laying the foundation for developing and expanding the applications of luminescent HOFs in the field of luminescent porous materials.