Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are a class of unique compounds consisting of repeating units of organic ligands, coordinated to metal ions, resulting in the formation of three-dimensional potentially porous structures. With seemingly infinite combinations of organic ligands and metal ions, the tunable nature of MOFs allows for a large degree of customizability, so that one can target a MOF for a particular application (gas storage/separation, catalysis, luminescence, etc.). For this study, we decided to focus upon some of the most well-known MOF platforms (i.e., ZIF-8, HKUST-1, etc.). The synthetic procedures and reported surface areas for these MOFs are well established, reliable, and inexpensive. We then sought to characterize the pores of these MOFs through encapsulation of a series of polarity sensitive fluorescent probes within these structures (i.e., 7-methoxycoumarin, pyrene, 8-Anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid, Nile blue A, etc.). The structural characterization and stability of these MOFs was determined by Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Gas Sorption Analysis, and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The presence of these fluorescent probes within the cavities/channels of the MOF were confirmed by TGA, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Fluorescence Spectroscopy, and Gas Sorption Analysis.

Encapsulation of fluorescent probes within the pores of a metal-organic framework

255th National Meeting (2018)

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