Thermo-sensitive luminescence of lanthanide complexes, clusters, coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks with organic photosensitizers

Luminescent lanthanide(iii) complexes show narrow emission bands (full widths at half maximum < 10 nm in the visible region) based on 4f-4f transitions, which are suitable for application in displays and sensing devices. The temperature-dependent luminescence of lanthanide complexes is expected to be applied to effective temperature-sensitive paints with higher sensitivity over a wide range for measurements of the physical parameters of a material surface in the fields of fluid dynamics, aeronautical engineering, environmental engineering, and energy technology. In this review, the characteristic emissions of lanthanide ions, suitable detection systems for thermo-sensing properties, temperature dependent luminescence of lanthanide mononuclear complexes, polynuclear clusters, coordination polymers (CPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are introduced. The theoretical considerations of their temperature-dependent photophysical processes and advanced ratiometric sensing systems for precise temperature detection are also described. Studies on luminescent lanthanide complexes with thermo-sensing properties open up the frontier field of research in advanced materials chemistry.