Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)
with multifunctional and
tunable optical properties have unique advantages in the field of
sensing, and the structure and properties of MOFs are significantly
influenced by the ligands. In this study, a Y-type tricarboxylic acid
ligand containing amide bonds was synthesized through functional guidance,
and three isomorphic and heterogeneous three-dimensional MOFs (Eu-MOF,
Tb-MOF, and Gd-MOF) were obtained by solvothermal reaction. Further
studies revealed that both the Tb-MOF and Eu-MOF could selectively
detect picric acid (PA). The luminescence quenching of the two MOFs
by PA was attributed to competing absorption and photoelectron energy
transfer mechanisms. In addition, due to the energy transfer between
Tb and Rhodamine B, Rhodamine B was encapsulated into Tb-MOF. The
obtained material exhibited a linear relationship between the temperature
parameters I
544/I
584 and temperature within the range of 280–400 K, the
correlation coefficient (R
2) reached an
impressive value of 0.999, and the absolute sensitivity of the sample
used for temperature sensing was 1.534% K–1. What
is more, the material exhibited a good response to trifluoroacetic
acid vapor, which suggests the potential of the material for temperature
sensing and detection of trifluoroacetic acid vapor. The designed
and investigated strategy can also serve as a reference for further
research on excellent multifunctional sensors.