Preparation and thiols sensing of luminescent metal-organic framework films functionalized with lanthanide ions

Continuous and well-attached thin films of indium trimesate metal organic framework (MOF) were prepared rapidly by in situ solvothermal synthesis method on silicon wafer modified with platinum nano-particles. The film growth process and possible mechanism were studied in detail. Luminescent metal organic framework thin films, In-BTC superset of Ln, were achieved by the post-functionalization of the resulted MOF film In-BTC with lanthanide ions (Eu3+, Tb3+, Dy3+ or Sm3+). The structure and morphology of the films were investigated by XRD and SEM. The luminescent properties of the In-BTC superset of Ln films indicate that lanthanide ions are sensitized by organic linker via the metal carboxylates in the pores. More interestingly, the luminescent In-BTC superset of Ln films show good performance in fast detection of volatile thiols such as 1,2-ethanedithiol and 1-butanethiol. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.