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Updated: May 7, 2026
10:13
A Technical Guide for Performing Spectroscopic Measurements on Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: April 28, 2023
Engineering metal-based luminescence in coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks
Johanna Heine1, Klaus Müller-Buschbaum
1Universität Würzburg, Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany. k.mueller-buschbaum@uni-wuerzburg.de.
Chemical Society Reviews
|October 1, 2013
Summary
Luminescent coordination polymers (CPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are increasingly studied for their tunable light-emitting properties. This review explores metal-based luminescence in CPs and MOFs, highlighting design principles and sensing applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Coordination polymers (CPs) and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are advanced materials with significant interest due to their versatile structures and properties.
- The combination of inorganic and organic components in CPs and MOFs enables a wide array of luminescence processes.
- The inherent multifunctionality of MOFs, such as porosity, further expands their application potential, including sensing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a tutorial review on the primary luminescence processes in CPs and MOFs.
- To focus on metal-based luminescence mechanisms within these material classes.
- To illustrate the concept of designing luminescent materials by understanding underlying processes.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of luminescence processes in CPs and MOFs.
- Analysis of ligand-metal interactions influencing luminescence.
- Discussion of structure-property relationships for luminescence tuning.
Main Results:
- Overview of diverse luminescence mechanisms, including ligand-centered, metal-centered, and charge-transfer processes.
- Demonstration of how varying ligand-metal combinations allows for "luminescence by design".
- Highlighting the role of MOF porosity and other functionalities in enabling sensing applications.
Conclusions:
- Metal-based luminescence in CPs and MOFs is a rich field with significant potential for tailored optical properties.
- Understanding luminescence mechanisms is key to designing novel luminescent materials.
- CPs and MOFs offer promising platforms for advanced sensing technologies.
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