A Noble-Metal-Free Porous Coordination Framework with Exceptional Sensing Efficiency for Oxygen

Porous matrix materials in optical sensing of gaseous oxygen

The review provides comparison of porous materials that act as a matrix for luminescent oxygen indicators. These include silica-gels, sol–gel materials based on silica and organically modified silica (Ormosils), aerogels, electrospun polymeric nanofibers, metal–organic frameworks, anodized alumina, and various other microstructured sensor matrices. The influence of material structure and composition on the efficiency of oxygen quenching and dynamic response times is compared and the advantages and disadvantages of the materials are summarized to give a guide for design and practical application of sensors with desired sensitivity and response time.

A Pillar-Layered Zn-LMOF with Uncoordinated Carboxylic Acid Sites: High Performance for Luminescence Sensing Fe3+ and TNP

By using the mixed-linker strategy, a new pillar-layered luminescence Zn-LMOF (JLU-MOF71) ([Zn₂Na₂(TPHC)(4,4-Bipy)(DMF)]·8H₂O) (TPHC = [1,1':2',1″-terphenyl]-3,3″,4,4',4″,5'-hexacarboxylic acid, 4,4-bipy = 4,4-bipyridine, DMF = N, N-dimethylformamide) was successfully synthesized and structurally characterized. JLU-MOF71 is constructed by the 4,4-bipy pillars and 2D layers which consist of Zn²⁺ and TPHC ligands, and displays a rare fsh topology. Benefiting from the uncoordinated carboxylate sites in the framework, JLU-MOF71 not only can sensitively detect trace amounts of individual Fe³⁺ and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) through luminescence quenching but also exhibits high selectivity when other competing analytes exist. Besides, TNP can also be effectively monitored with the help of the shifting direction of luminescent spectra (red shift) which has rarely been reported before. On the basis of the aforementioned, JLU-MOF71 can be considered as a potential luminescence sensor for detecting Fe³⁺ and TNP.

Polar group and defect engineering in a metal-organic framework: synergistic promotion of carbon dioxide sorption and conversion

A sulfone-functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF), USTC-253, has been synthesized that exhibits a much higher CO2 uptake capacity (168-182 %) than the corresponding unfurnished MOFs. The introduction of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) during the synthesis of USTC-253 affords defect-containing USTC-253-TFA with exposed metal centers, which has an increased CO2 uptake (167 %) compared to pristine USTC-253. USTC-253-TFA exhibits a very high ideal adsorption solution theory selectivity (S=75) to CO2 over N2 at 298 K. In addition, USTC-253-TFA demonstrates good catalytic activity and recyclability in the cycloaddition of CO2 and epoxide at room temperature under 1 bar CO2 pressure as a result of the presence of Lewis and Brønsted acid sites, which were evaluated by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy with a CO probe molecule. We propose that the CO2 adsorption capability has a positive correlation with the catalytic performance toward CO2 conversion.

A metal-organic framework containing unusual eight-connected Zr-oxo secondary building units and orthogonal carboxylic acids for ultra-sensitive metal detection

Two metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with Zr-oxo secondary building units (SBUs) were prepared by using p,p'-terphenyldicarboxylate (TPDC) bridging ligands pre-functionalized with orthogonal succinic acid (MOF-1) and maleic acid groups (MOF-2). Single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of MOF-1 provides the first direct evidence for eight-connected SBUs in UiO-type MOFs. In contrast, MOF-2 contains twelve-connected SBUs as seen in the traditional UiO MOF topology. These structural assignments were confirmed by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis. The highly porous MOF-1 is an excellent fluorescence sensor for metal ions with the detection limit of <0.5 ppb for Mn(2+) and three to four orders of magnitude greater sensitivity for metal ions than previously reported luminescent MOFs.