Versatile Covalent Postsynthetic Modification of Metal Organic Frameworks via Thermal Condensation for Fluoride Sensing in Waters

Having access to safe drinking water is one of the 17 sustainable development goals defined by the United Nations (UN). However, many settlements around the globe have limited access to drinkable water due to non-anthropogenic pollution of the water sources. One of those pollutants is fluoride, which can induce major health problems. In this manuscript, we report on a post synthetic functionalization of metal organic frameworks for the sensing of fluoride in water. The proposed thermal condensation methodology allows for a high yield of functionalization using few steps, reducing reagent costs and generating minimal by-products. We identified a Rhodamine B functionalized Al-BDC-NH2 metal organic framework as one particularly suitable for fluoride detection in water.

Fluoride sensing performance of fluorescent NH2-MIL-53(Al): 2D Nanosheets vs. 3D Bulk

Due to the ultra-thin morphology, larger specific surface area and more exposed active sites, two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) nanosheets can break the limitations of three-dimensional (3D) MOFs in sensitivity,...