(384g) Synthesis and Properties of Metal-Organic Frameworks Containing Lanthanide Clusters

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline materials that present defined pore structures and high surface areas. Furthermore, due to its hybrid organic-inorganic nature, their properties can be easily tuned by modifying its components. In particular, Lanthanide-based MOFs (Ln-MOFs) take advantage of the high coordination number of these elements, imparting the materials with specific properties. Ln-MOFs have applications in areas such as drug delivery, chemical sensing and photoluminescence.

While the inclusion of lanthanides in MOFs started in the late 90’s, the inclusion of multiatomic clusters in these structures has just started to develop in recent years. These clusters are usually susceptible to hydrolysis, which makes their incorporation in MOFs very challenging. Nevertheless, by tuning the synthesis conditions, it is possible to integrate these motifs into the MOF structure. These clusters usually add different properties to the Ln-MOFs such as high thermal and chemical stability, magnetism and fluorescence.

The research to be presented focuses on the synthesis and characterization of a series of MOFs containing lanthanide clusters. By using dicarboxylate-type linkers diverse structures containing triclusters and hexaclusters have been obtained. The focus of this presentation will be on the observed effects of these clusters on the MOF properties. Finally, the potential of these structures in areas such as radiotherapy, magnetism, fluorescence and gas separation will be discussed.