A templated lanthanide metal-organic framework: synthesis, structure, and luminescence of (bpy) [Eu (ip)1.5(H2O)4] (bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine, ip = isophthalate)

A novel lanthanide metal-organic framework (MOF), (bpy) [Eu (ip)1.5(H2O)4] (bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine, ip=isophthalate) (1) has been synthesized via hydrothermal method. Single-crystal X-ray analysis reveals that the three-dimensional (3D) network is formed by one-dimensional (1D) chains through hydrogen bonds. The channel regions of the framework are host to neutral 4,4′-bipyridine molecules which serve as guest-templates. These 4,4′-bipyridine molecules do not coordinate to the metal centers but rather show hydrogen bond participation with metal-bound water molecules. The emission spectra show that 1 emits intense sharp red light when it is excited by different wavelength light of the absorption band.