Unique Chiral Interpenetrating d–f Heterometallic MOFs as Luminescent Sensors

One novel three-dimensional (3D)
3d–4f metal–organic framework (MOF), [TbZn­(L)­(CO3)2(H2O)]n (1) [HL = 4′-(4-carboxyphenyl)-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine],
has been successfully synthesized and structurally characterized.
Structural analysis shows that compound 1 features a
unique chiral interpenetrating 3D framework for the first time. The
resulting crystals of 1 are composed of enantiomers 1a (P41) and 1b (P43), as was clearly confirmed by the crystal
structure and the corresponding circular dichroism (CD) analyses of
eight randomly selected crystals. The investigations on CD spectra
based on every single crystal clearly assigned the Cotton effect signals.
The powder X-ray diffraction measurement of 1 after being
immersed in common solvents reveals that 1 possess excellent
solvent stability. Furthermore, luminescent studies imply that 1 displays highly selective luminescent sensing of aldehydes,
such as formol, acetaldehyde, and propanal.