Interpenetration of Donor–Acceptor Hybrid Frameworks for Highly Sensitive Thermal Sensors

Donor–acceptor (D–A) alignment that integrates D–A pairs into the modular and versatile crystalline metal–organic frameworks is a powerful strategy to precisely fabricate multifunctional materials with unique optoelectronic properties and applications at the molecular level. Herein, we reported an unprecedented threefold interpenetrating D–A hybrid framework by incorporating an electron-deficient linear viologen zwitterion into the lead-halide systems. The 1D iodoplumbate nanoribbon and interpenetrating close-packed D–A structure endowed this hitherto unknown semiconductive alignment with the anisotropic conductivity and high stability. When used in a thermal sensor, it presented exceptional electrical properties with a high sensitivity (high thermal index B of 4671 K) and decent temperature coefficient of resistivity (0.72% °C–1) in wide operational temperature ranges (40–220 °C), which are among the best of the related thermistors. This work develops a pathway to bridge the gaps between hybrid materials and electron devices.