Extremely Stable Thorium-MOF Assembly of Tetraphenylethylene Derivative With Tunable AIE Property and Highly Selective Detection of Nitro Aromatic Compounds

Thorium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are unique, which are substantially less reported compared to the MOFs based on transition metal and rare earth elements. Here, a thorium-MOF (Th-TCBPE) based on 4',4'',4''',4''''-(ethene-1,1,2,2-tetrayl)tetrakis([1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxylic acid) (H4TCBPE) and thorium nitrate is synthesized first. Th-TCBPE is an interpenetrated 2D network, where Th (IV) is ten-coordinated with a bicapped dodecahedron coordination geometry. Further studies about the structure by time-resolved emission spectra (TRES) analysis are also discussed. What's more, Th-TCBPE has excellent thermal stability and good tunable AIE property on concentration in THF. The photophysical properties of Th-TCBPE in different solvents, different concentrations in THF, and different ratios of THF/H2O are studied. The ability of Th-TCBPE to detect nitro aromatic compounds is also investigated. It is also believed that this work can provide theoretical guidance and inspiration for the development of Th-MOF and MOF with AIEgens in the future.

Automated summary

This article introduces a thorium-based metal-organic framework (MOF) with unique structure and excellent properties. The thorium MOF exhibits good thermal stability and tunable aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property, and it is capable of detecting nitro aromatic compounds.