Selective recognition of Hg2+ ions in aqueous solution by a CdII-based metal–organic framework with good stability and vacant coordination sites

Abstract

A novel water-stable Cd^II-based metal–organic framework, namely {[Cd(BIBT)(TDC)]·2H₂O}_n (JXUST-28, BIBT = 4,7-bi(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzo-[2,1,3]thiadiazole and H₂TDC = 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid), was synthesized using a mixed-ligand strategy. Structural analysis demonstrates that JXUST-28 exhibits a two-dimensional layer structure with 4-connected sql topology. Intriguingly, JXUST-28 presents good stability in boiling water (at least 5 days), common organic solvents and aqueous solutions with different pH values of 2–12 (more than 24 hours). Furthermore, fluorescence experiments revealed that JXUST-28 could sense Hg²⁺ ions in aqueous solution via a quenching effect with a detection limit of 0.097 μM. Meanwhile, JXUST-28 can also be regenerated at least 5 times to detect Hg²⁺ ions. In addition, light-emitting diode lamps, luminescent films, and test papers of JXUST-28 have been successfully developed for practical applications.