The group studies photoactive hybrid materials consisting of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and photochromic/luminescent (in-)organic molecules and complexes. Photoactive substances primarily show their optical properties in solution, which are limited in solids by steric hindrance. Insertion into a MOF host has the advantage that the species in question are separated from each other. On the one hand, this means that light-induced isomerisation processes are enabled in solids, and on the other hand, phenomena such as the quenching of luminescence through aggregation can be prevented. In addition, the physicochemical properties of MOFs can be varied by selectively changing the individual building blocks and thus the desired properties can be set, which in turn modulates the optical response of the overall material.
The two- or multi-component systems are synthesized in various ways, ranging from “one-pot” syntheses to diffusion loading, gas-phase loading and mechanochemistry. The optical properties of the resulting materials are analyzed using various diffractometric and spectroscopic methods.