Investigations on optoelectronic properties of metal (Terbium)-organic framework/tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminium composite for potential device applications

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly porous materials that are formed via the coordination bonding of organic and inorganic moieties. MOFs exhibit many exciting luminescence characteristics on account of their multi-faceted structures. Amongst the luminescent MOFs, the lanthanide series compounds are known for stable luminescence intensity, high color purity and high quantum efficiency. In fact, these features are compounded in MOFs, as compared to the bare lanthanide elements. The composites of lanthanide MOFs with conducting electroluminescent materials are promising in various device applications, such as emissive layers of organic light emitting devices (OLEDs). The present research examines the optical and electronic behaviors of a luminescent Terbium-MOF and its composite with Tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminium (Alq(3)) (Tb-MOF/Alq(3)). The composite has been found to possess some important favorable attributes, e.g., high emission intensity, a desirable scale of conductivity, sufficiently large quantum yield and a low band gap value. All these features point out toward the potential applicability of the Tb-MOF/Alq(3) composite in optoelectronic devices, such as an emissive layer for OLEDs.