A highly stable yttrium organic framework as a host for optical thermometry and D2O detection

The yttrium-organic framework (Y 0.89 Tb 0.10 Eu 0.01 ) 6 (BDC) 7 (OH) 4 (H 2 O) 4 (BDC = benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate) is hydrothermally stable up to at least 513 K and thermally stable in air in excess of 673 K. The relative intensities of luminescence of Tb 3+ and Eu 3+ are governed by Tb 3+ -to-Eu 3+ phonon-assisted energy transfer and Tb 3+ -to-ligand back transfer and are responsible for the differing temperature-dependent luminescence of the two ions. This provides a ratiometric luminescent thermometer in the 288 – 573 K temperature range, not previously seen for MOF materials, with a high sensitivity, 1.69±0.04% K -1 at 523 K. In aqueous conditions, loosely bound H 2 O can be replaced by D 2 O in the same material, which modifies decay lifetimes to yield a quantitative luminescent D 2 O sensor with a useful sensitivity for practical application