A porous Zn(II)-based metal-organic framework for highly selective and sensitive Fe3+ ion detection in water

A new highly porous metal-organic framework, namely {[Zn-3(bpydb)(2)(atz)(2)(DMF)](DMF)(6))(n), was solvothermally synthesized using 4,4'-(4,4'-bipyridine-2,6-diyl) dibenzoic acid (bpydbH(2)), 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (Hatz) and Zn(NO3)(2)center dot 6H(2)O as the starting materials. Single crystal X-ray structural analysis shows that compound 1 is composed of 1D helical Zn-triazolate chain building units that connected by the deprotonated bpydbH(2) ligand to form a (3,4,6)-connected net. Due to its strong fluorescent emission and high porosity, compound 1 could behave as a chemosensor for selective detection of Fe3+ ion with high selectivity and sensitivity in water. In connection to this, the detection mechanism and the host-guest interaction have also been investigated via computational analysis. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.