A luminescent nano-scale metal-organic framework for sensing small molecules

A nano-scale metal-organic framework Eu(BDC)1.5(H20)2 was synthesized in a reverse microemulsion system. Scanning electron micrographic (SEM) showed that they were nanorods with 100∼200nm in length by 25nm in diameter. Sensing experiments were carried out to examine the potential of Eu(BDC)1.5(H20)2 for sensing small molecules such as acetonitrinile and acetone. The luminescent intensity was largely dependent on the solvent molecules in the case of acetonitrinile and acetone, which showed no significant change and quenching effects respectively. The result indicated that Eu(BDC)1.5(H20)2 could be developed for the sensing of acetone solvent molecules. Research on the sensing of other small molecules is still underway.