Highly luminescent silver-based MOFs: Scalable eco-friendly synthesis paving the way for photonics sensors and electroluminescent devices

TL;DR

This paper reports an eco-friendly, scalable synthesis of a highly luminescent silver-based MOF with exceptional photophysical properties, demonstrating its potential for use in photonic sensors and electroluminescent devices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, environmentally friendly synthesis method for a highly luminescent Ag-MOF with reversible stimuli-responsive properties and demonstrates its application in a prototype LED device.

Findings

High quantum yield and structural robustness of the Ag-MOF

Reversible switching of properties by temperature and pressure

Successful construction of a MOF-based LED device

Abstract

Luminescent multifunctional nanomaterials are important because of their potential impact on the development of key technologies such as smart luminescent sensors and solid-state lightings. To be technologically viable, the luminescent material needs to fulfil a number of requirements such as facile and cost-effective fabrication, a high quantum yield, structural robustness, and long-term material stability. To achieve these requirements, an eco-friendly and scalable synthesis of a highly photoluminescent, multistimuli responsive and electroluminescent silver-based metal-organic framework (Ag-MOF), termed "OX-2" was developed. Its exceptional photophysical and mechanically resilient properties that can be reversibly switched by temperature and pressure make this material stood out over other competing luminescent materials. The potential use of OX-2 MOF as a good electroluminescent material was tested by constructing a proof-of-concept MOF-LED (light emitting diode) device, further contributing to the rare examples of electroluminescent MOFs. The results reveal the huge potential for exploiting the Ag MOF as a multitasking platform to engineer innovative photonic technologies.