A luminescent cadmium metal-organic framework with potential detection of nitroaromatic compounds

• A new luminescent 3D Cd(II) MOF (1) was designed and synthesized.
• The luminescent property of 1 displays selectivity and sensitivity to nitrobenzene.
• The MOF is a potential sensor for nitroaromatic compounds.

A novel metal-organic framework (MOF) [Cd3(L)2(μ2-H2O)2]·(H2O)3 (1) (H3L=5-(4-carboxy-benzylamino)-isophthalic acid), has been successfully synthesized under hydrothermal condition. Single crystal structure analysis reveals that 1 displays a three-dimensional (3D) framework, which represents a rarely obtained (4, 8)-connected topology. The compound exhibits strong fluorescent emission in the solid state at room temperature. Interestingly, the fluorescence of 1 dispersed in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) can be selectively and sensitively quenched by nitroaromatic compounds (NACs), which shows that the complex could be a potential fluorescent sensor for detection of these compounds.

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