Issue

Vol. 18 (2026)

Pressure-Modulated Host–Guest Interactions Boost Effective Blue-Light Emission of MIL-140A Nanocrystals

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01917-8
Ting Zhang
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Jiaju Liang
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Ruidong Qiao
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Binhao Yang
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Kaiyan Yuan
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Yixuan Wang
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Chuang Liu
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Zhaodong Liu
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Xinyi Yang
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China
Bo Zou
Synergetic Extreme Condition High‑Pressure Science Center, State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Xinyi Yang

yangxinyi@jlu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 70

Abstract

Luminescent metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have garnered significant attention due to their structural tunability and potential applications in solid-state lighting, bioimaging, sensing, anti-counterfeiting, and other fields. Nevertheless, due to the tendency of 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (BDC) to rotate within the framework, MOFs composed of it exhibit significant non-radiative energy dissipation and thus impair the emissive properties. In this study, efficient luminescence of MIL-140A nanocrystals (NCs) with BDC rotors as ligands is achieved by pressure treatment strategy. Pressure treatment effectively modulates the pore structure of the framework, enhancing the interactions between the N, N-dimethylformamide guest molecules and the BDC ligands. The enhanced host–guest interaction contributes to the structural rigidity of the MOF, thereby suppressing the rotation-induced excited-state energy loss. As a result, the pressure-treated MIL-140A NCs displayed bright blue-light emission, with the photoluminescence quantum yield increasing from an initial 6.8% to 69.2%. This study developed an effective strategy to improve the luminescence performance of rotor ligand MOFs, offers a new avenue for the rational design and synthesis of MOFs with superior luminescent properties.


Highlights:
1 The luminescence performance of MIL-140A is successfully improved via pressure treatment strategy with a significant increase of photoluminescence quantum yield from the initial 6.8% to 69.2%.
2 Pressure treatment boosts the host–guest interactions by inducing aperture contraction, which enhances the structural rigidity and thus enables efficient emission.

Keywords

Metal–organic framework nanocrystals Blue-light emission Host–guest interactions Pressure treatment
Zhang, Ting, Jiaju Liang, Ruidong Qiao, Binhao Yang, Kaiyan Yuan, Yixuan Wang, Chuang Liu, Zhaodong Liu, Xinyi Yang, and Bo Zou. 2025. “Pressure-Modulated Host–Guest Interactions Boost Effective Blue-Light Emission of MIL-140A Nanocrystals”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (September):70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01917-8.
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