New isostructural compounds [Ln₇(3,5-DSB)₄(OH)₉(H₂O)₁₅]·4H₂O (Ln = Eu, Gd and Tb) (DSB = 3,5-disulfobenzoate), with excellent optical properties, have been obtained and studied. By combining the lanthanide cations with the DSB ligand the formation of a singular heptanuclear [Ln₇(OH)₉]⁺¹² metallic core secondary building unit (SBU) has been promoted. This core is defined as a bi-capped dicubane SBU, and is a 4-connected node in a bidimensional net with (4⁴·6²) topology. The highly efficient emission from the triplet state of the disulfobenzoic ligand in the Gd-MOF and the exponential temperature dependence of I_Triplet/I_Ln = I_o exp(−E_A/k_BT) allow the design of thermometers with different color ranges through the adequate multimetal combination that cover almost the whole visible spectrum and are useful in a wide temperature range (10–300 K) with unprecedented sensitivities up to 32% K⁻¹. The Eu-DSB and Tb-DSB MOFs present an optimum antenna effect, a temperature independent f–f emission temporal decay and, in spite of the close packing of the Ln ions inside the MOF, no concentration quenching. The external efficiency is drastically increased in MOFs with a combination of a few percent of Eu and/or Tb with Gd by means of radiative and non-radiative energy transfers from the Gd ions and Gd connected ligands.

The first series of mixed succinate/sulfate/Ln MOFs, [Ln₂2(C₂2H₄4C₂2O₄4)₂2(SO₄4)(H₂2O)₂2] (RPF-16), where Ln = La, Pr, Nd, and Sm, were hydrothermally obtained and their structures determined by X-ray single crystal diffraction. The crystalline products are a series of isostructural 3D polymeric compounds that crystallise in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n. Their framework comprises infinite crossing chains of LnO₉ sharing edges polyhedra, kept together by succinate and sulfate anions. Topological simplification gives rise to a 3D uninodal six connected net of type pcu alpha-Po primitive cubic. These well-defined compounds show high chemoselectivity towards reduction of the nitro group and present bifunctional activity for the one-pot reductive amination of heptanal at near-complete conversion of the substrates. A general overview of the room-temperature luminescence behavior in the new RPF-16 Ln materials is also reported.