Tuning the rare-earth UiO-66 metal–organic framework platform for white light emission

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have received notable attention owing to their structural diversity, permanent porosity, and high surface areas. In addition to these properties, rare-earth (RE) MOFs have the added feature of tunable photoluminescence dictated by the identity of the metal ion and organic linker in the RE-MOF. Herein, we explore the tunable photoluminescent properties of RE-UiO-66 by synthesizing and characterizing mono-, bi- and tri-metal RE-UiO-66 analogues where RE = Tb(III), Gd(III), and Eu(III), to ultimately design a white light emitting MOF. The photophysical properties of this series of MOFs are explored and, as a proof of concept, the tri-metal Tb:Gd:Eu-UiO-66 is used as a surface coating on a UV light emitting diode (LED) to give a white light emitting device.