Europium activated yttrium hybrid microporous system for luminescent sensing toxic anion of Cr(VI) species

• Eu3+ functionalized yttrium MOFs.
• A crystal-to-crystal transformation of MOFs with different solvents.
• Detection of CrO42− and Cr2O72− in aqueous solution.
• Good fluorescence stability, low detection limit and broad linear range.

A new method was put forward to synthesize nanoscale rare earth hybrid systems via incorporating europium ions into yttrium centered metal–organic framework in H2O–DMF solvent. Obtained Ln-MOF (Y(BTC)(DMF):0.1Eu, 1) is isostructural with reported metal–organic framework Y(BTC)(H2O)3(DMF)1.1 (H3BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate, DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide), which were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA and BET. Besides, a structural transformation of 1 appeared when it was immersed in aqueous solution, consequently forming 1D coordination polymers ([Y(BTC)(H2O)6]n:0.1Eu, 1a). 1 possesses excellent luminescent performance. Besides, 1a was developed for detection of CrO42− and Cr2O72− in aqueous solution. Good fluorescence stability in aqueous solution, low detection limit and broad linear range of 1a suggest it has the potential for sensing of Cr(VI) anion species in environment and biological system.

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