Tuning the luminescence of two 3d-4f metal-organic frameworks for the fast response and highly selective detection of aniline

Two 3D solvent-stable zinc(II)-lanthanide(III) heterometallic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) {[(CH3)(2)NH2](2)[Zn(2)Ln(2)(FDA)(6)(DMF)(2)]center dot 2DMF}(n) [Ln = Eu (Zn-Eu) and Tb (Zn-Tb); H(2)FDA = furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid] based on Zn(2)Ln(2)(COO)(10) tetrametallic clusters and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid have been successfully synthesized. These MOFs can serve as luminescent sensors for the fast response and highly selective detection of aniline via luminescence quenching. More importantly, a linear correlation is observed between their luminescence and the low concentration of aniline and the detection limits of aniline are 7.5 mu mol L-1 for Zn-Eu and 5.2 mu mol L-1 for Zn-Tb.