Selective Sensing of Fe(3+) and Al(3+) Ions and Detection of 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol by a Water-Stable Terbium-Based Metal-Organic Framework

Li-Hui Cao; Fang Shi; Wen-Min Zhang; Shuang-Quan Zang; Thomas C W Mak

doi:10.1002/chem.201501162

Selective Sensing of Fe(3+) and Al(3+) Ions and Detection of 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol by a Water-Stable Terbium-Based Metal-Organic Framework

Chemistry. 2015 Oct 26;21(44):15705-12. doi: 10.1002/chem.201501162. Epub 2015 Sep 10.

Authors

Li-Hui Cao¹, Fang Shi¹, Wen-Min Zhang¹, Shuang-Quan Zang², Thomas C W Mak^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou (P. R. China), Fax: (+86) 371-6778-0136.
² College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou (P. R. China), Fax: (+86) 371-6778-0136. zangsqzg@zzu.edu.cn.
³ Department of Chemistry and Center of Novel Functional Molecules, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR (P. R. China).

PMID: 26493882
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201501162

Abstract

A water-stable luminescent terbium-based metal-organic framework (MOF), {[Tb(L1 )1.5 (H2 O)]⋅3 H2 O}n (Tb-MOF), with rod-shaped secondary building units (SBUs) and honeycomb-type tubular channels has been synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The high green emission intensity and the microporous nature of the Tb-MOF indicate that it can potentially be used as a luminescent sensor. In this work, we show that Tb-MOF can selectively sense Fe(3+) and Al(3+) ions from mixed metal ions in water through different detection mechanisms. In addition, it also exhibits high sensitivity for 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) in the presence of other nitro aromatic compounds in aqueous solution by luminescence quenching experiments.

Keywords: aqueous phase; metal-organic frameworks; microporous materials; multifunctional sensor; terbium.