Semiconductor Behavior of a Three-Dimensional Strontium-Based Metal–Organic Framework

The self-assembly of a three-dimensional strontium-based metal–organic framework [Sr­(Hbtc)­(H2O)]n (1) was achieved through the reaction of Sr­(NO3)2 with a 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylic acid (1,2,4-H3btc) ligand under hydrothermal conditions. This Sr-based metal–organic framework exhibits remarkable semiconducting behavior, as evidenced by theoretical calculations and experimental measurements. Temperature-dependent DC conductivity, near-room-temperature AC conductivity, diffuse reflection spectra, and photoluminescence spectra provide strong proof that compound 1 shows a band gap of 2.3 eV, which is comparable to that for other commonly available semiconducting materials (e.g., CdSe, CdTe, ZnTe, GaP, etc.). The optimized molecular structure and electronic properties (density of states and band gap energy) of 1 were calculated using density functional theory, and the results are consistent with experimental findings. This is the first report on the semiconducting properties of a strontium-based MOF, which will pave the way for further studies in semiconducting MOFs with interesting potential applications in optoelectronic devices.