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Preparation and quantitative analysis of multicenter luminescence materials for sensing function

Nature Protocols volume 18, pages 1621–1640 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Luminescent sensing materials are attractive for environmental analysis due to their potential for high selectivity, excellent sensitivity and rapid (even instantaneous) response towards targeted analytes in diverse sample matrices. Many types of analytes have been detected in samples of wastewater for environmental protection, reagents and products in industrial production of drugs and pesticides, and biological markers in blood and urine for early diagnosis. It is still challenging, however, to develop appropriate materials with optimal sensing function for a targeted analyte. Here we synthesize metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) bearing multiple luminescent centers, such as metal cations (for example, Eu3+ and Tb3+), organic ligands and guests, which are chosen for optimal selectivity for the analytes of interest, including industrial synthetic intermediates and chiral drugs. Interaction between the metal node, ligand, guest and analyte results in a complex system with different luminescence properties compared with the porous MOF on its own. The operation time for the synthesis is usually less than 4 h; the quick screening for sensitivity and selectivity takes ~0.5 h and includes steps to optimize the energy levels and spectrum parameters. It can be used to accelerate the discovery of advanced sensing materials for practical applications.

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Fig. 1: Fitting modes for the quenching- and enhancement-type sensing.
Fig. 2: Synthetic schemes for the four luminescence sensing materials.
Fig. 3: Schematic illustrations to detect single or multiple analytes.
Fig. 4: Analysis models for quantitative detection.
Fig. 5: Synthesis of EuTb-FDA.
Fig. 6: Synthesis of IRMOF-74-II-Mg-C-Tb.
Fig. 7: Synthesis of Zn-MOF-C-Tb.
Fig. 8: Synthesis of EuTb@NKU-102.
Fig. 9: Detection procedure.
Fig. 10: Data analysis.

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Data availability

All relevant data supporting this study’s findings are available within the article and at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21482904.

Code availability

The program’s original code for three-component calculation, programmed using Python, is provided as an example in Supplementary Information.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (92156002, 21931004 and 22261132509), the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (18JCJQJC47200) and the Ministry of Education of China (B12015). W.S. acknowledges receipt of a Royal Society Newton Advanced Fellowship (NAF\R1\180297).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (MOE) and Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

    Zongsu Han, Peng Cheng & Wei Shi

  2. Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Kunyu Wang & Hong-Cai Zhou

  3. Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin, China

    Peng Cheng & Wei Shi

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Contributions

Z.H. and K.W. organized the manuscript and made the figures. H.-C.Z. and P.C. oversaw the entire project. W.S. designed and supervised the project and prepared the manuscript. All authors contributed to writing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wei Shi.

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Nature Protocols thanks Mei Pan, Houqun Yuan and Dan Zhao for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Key references using this protocol

Han, Z. et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 61, e202204066 (2022): https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202204066

Zhou, J. et al. Adv. Mater. 27, 7072–7077 (2015): https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201502760

Han, Z. et al. Nat. Commun. 10, 5117 (2019): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13090-9

Han, Z. et al. CCS Chem. 4, 3238–3245 (2022): https://doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.022.202101642

Key data used in this protocol Han, Z. et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 61, e202204066 (2022): https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202204066

Zhou, J. et al. Adv. Mater. 27, 7072–7077 (2015): https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201502760

Han, Z. et al. Nat. Commun. 10, 5117 (2019): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13090-9

Han, Z. et al. CCS Chem. 4, 3238–3245 (2022): https://doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.022.202101642

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–21, Table 1 and Software.

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Han, Z., Wang, K., Zhou, HC. et al. Preparation and quantitative analysis of multicenter luminescence materials for sensing function. Nat Protoc 18, 1621–1640 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-023-00810-1

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