A luminescent metal-organic framework as a highly sensitive and selective sensor for the detection of iodate

A Zr-based luminescent metal-organic framework, namely, [Zr-6(mu 3OH)(4)(mu O-3)(4)(OH)(4)(BITD)(2)(H2O)(4)]<middle dot>(DMF)(6)(H2O)(20) (Zr-BITD), was synthesized between tetravalent zirconium ion and 5 '-(4,5-bis(4carboxyphenyl)-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-[1,1 ':3 ',1 ''-terphenyl]-4,4 ''-dicarboylic acid (H4BITD) with the formic acid as the modulator. Zr-BITD was fully characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, thermalgravimetric analysis and fluorescence spectrum. It exhibited excellent chemical stability in the pH range from 0 to 11, while it showed enhanced fluorescence derived from its highly rigid and stable structure. Furthermore, Zr-BITD can be used to effectively detect iodate in the aqueous solution, while the S-V plot is linear in the range of 0 similar to 80 mu M with the K-SV value up to 8.02 x 10(3) M (-) (1) and the limit of detection low to 2.05 mu M. This work highlights the opportunity in constructing novel Zr-MOFs for their potential applications in the fluorescent detection of iodate.