Reversible Luminescent Vapochromism of a Zero-Dimensional Sb³⁺-Doped Organic–Inorganic Hybrid

Photoactive metal ions doping is an efficient way to modulate the photophysical properties of perovskite. Herein, we report a zero-dimensional (0D) InCl6(C4H10SN)4·Cl:Sb3+ by doping Sb3+ into InCl6(C4H10SN)4·Cl, which undergoes a significant enhancement of the emission peak at 550 nm with photoluminescence quantum yield boosting from 20% to 90%. Interestingly, a red-shifted emission is observed on InCl6(C4H10SN)4·Cl:Sb3+ upon exposure to ethanol and DMF vapor with the emission peak red-shifted from 550 to 580 and 600 nm, respectively. Furthermore, the transformation is reversed after drying the vapor-exposed InCl6(C4H10SN)4·Cl:Sb3+ at ambient conditions. Detailed characterizations reveal that the crystal packing and structure distortion account for the reversible luminescent vapochromism. Thanks to the superior stability and feasible transformation of InCl6(C4H10SN)4·Cl:Sb3+ at ambient conditions, a DMF sensor was fabricated by coating the mixture of InCl6(C4H10SN)4·Cl:Sb3+ and PMMA into patterned substrate, which exhibits an obvious luminescent change upon release and uptake of DMF and excellent stability and producibility in several cycles.