Luminescent metal–organic frameworks and coordination polymers as alternative phosphors for energy efficient lighting devices

The development of lower cost and higher performance phosphor materials for energy efficient lighting and other optoelectronic applications is both necessary and feasible. Luminescent metal–organic frameworks and coordination polymers (LMOFs and LCPs, respectively) are a class of materials that hold great promise for this application. Their luminescence is eminently tunable, and a myriad of structures with incredibly diverse properties have been reported, with emission wavelengths covering the entire visible spectrum, white light emission from a variety of mechanisms, and quantum yields approaching unity. This review will briefly describe the luminescence mechanisms commonly observed in these materials, discuss strategies for the rational design of LMOF/LCP phosphors, and present a number of representative examples of each mechanism and/or design strategy.