With Zn(II) porphyrin as a building block, nano-/microscale MOFs with different morphologies were synthesized as sensitizers for O2 (forming 1O2). The sensitization efficiency was observed to enhance remarkably with the decrease of morphological dimension of the sample. With high sensitization ability, the one-dimensional MOF could selectively photocatalyze the deprotection of oxathiolanes to ketones.

A Fe-pyridinedicaroxylate based coordination polymer with a monodisperse morphology of nanorods was synthesized under solvothermal conditions. This compound could work as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst to degrade a series of organic pollutants, and exhibited high activity, good stability, a wide pH tolerance and efficient H2O2 utilization in the reactions.

With a flexible aromatic ligand, bis-(3,5-dicarboxy-phenyl)terephthalamide (H4L), two metal–organic frameworks, Cd(L)·(HDMA)2(DMF)(H2O)3 (1) and Zn(L)·(HDMA)2(DMF)(H2O)6 (2), were synthesized using a solvothermal method. Both 1 and 2 possess a 3D open framework. These two compounds exhibit strong photoluminescence in suspensions, and their luminescence could be efficiently and selectively quenched by a series of nitroaromatics. Thus, 1 and 2 could be used as excellent luminescent probes for nitroaromatic explosives. Additionally, 1 and 2 could also be utilized as the sensing platforms for DNA strands, which is attributed to their different affinities for single- and double-stranded DNAs. With this method, 0.05 nM of target DNA could be detected, and the selectivity could be down to a single nucleotide mismatch. This work shows the potential of MOFs for the sensing of versatile chemicals.

A new coordination polymer which shows an unusual 2D inorganic connectivity was constructed. This compound exhibits distinct fluorescence quenching ability to the dye-labeled single-stranded DNA probes with different lengths, based on which an analytical method was developed for the activity assay of deoxyribonuclease I.

By a one-pot method, monodisperse micro/nanoscale Zn-based coordination polymers (CPs) were synthesized. The morphologies of products could be feasibly modulated with the change of the synthesis medium. These CPs were used as precursors to prepare ZnO architectures, which are mesoporous, inherit the morphology of CP precursors and exhibit high photoactivity.

•A sensor (1) with quadrapyridyl type receptor and large chromophore was obtained.•1 exhibit sensitive off-on fluorescent response to Cd2+ in aqueous media.•The response of 1 to Cd2+ is immune to the interference of other metal cations.•1 is highly biocompatible and was used to the in vivo Cd2+ imaging in living cells.By retaining the quadrapyridyl receptor of polypyridylhexaazatriphenylene (a Cd2+ sensor reported by us) and extending its chromophoric group with pyrene, a chemical sensor (1) was designed and synthesized in this work. This sensor exhibit selective off-on fluorescence response to Cd2+ over other metal ions, and the detection limit is as low as 0.02 μM. The Cd2+ sensing of 1 has high water toleration and can be carried out in the media with the water content up to 70%. Additionally, 1 was successfully applied to the in vivo imaging of intracellular Cd2+ in living HaLa cells, and showed low cytotoxicity and cell membrane permeability in these experiments. These results suggest that 1 has potential application in the Cd2+ analysis of environmental and biological samples.A polypyridyl-pyrene based chemical sensor showed selective off-on fluorescence response to Cd2+ in aqueous media and was successfully applied to the in vivo imaging of Cd2+ in living cells.

•Two hexaazatriphenylene based chemsensors (1 and 2) were synthesized.•Both 1 and 2 exhibit off/on fluorescent response for Cd2+.•The response of 1 and 2 to Cd2+ is immune to the interference of other cations.•The coordination modes of 1 and 2 with Cd2+ were analyzed with different methods.•Based on coordination modes, the mechanism of fluorescence response was discussed.Two hexaazatriphenylene (HAT) derivatives, 2,3,6,7-tetramethyl-10,11-di(pyridin-2-yl)dipyrazino[2,3-f:2',3'-h]quinoxaline (1) and 2,3-dimethyl-6,7,10,11-tetra(pyridin-2-yl)dipyrazino[2,3-f:2',3'-h]quinoxaline (2), were designed and synthesized. Both 1 and 2 exhibited high off–on fluorescent selectivity for Cd2+ over many other metal ions, and the detection limits were determined to be 0.6 and 5.0 μM, respectively. The stoichiometry and coordination mode of blue fluorescent 1-Cd2+ and cyan fluorescent 2-Cd2+ were determined with fluorescence titration fit, Job's plot analysis, 1H NMR titration and X-ray crystallography, and the fluorescence enhancement mechanism was analyzed with density functional theory calculation.Two HAT derivatives exhibit highly selective off–on fluorescent response for Cd2+ based on CHEF mechanism, which are further investigated by the X-ray crystallographic method and DFT calculation.

With a flexible aromatic ligand, bis-(3,5-dicarboxy-phenyl)terephthalamide (H4L), two metal–organic frameworks, Cd(L)·(HDMA)2(DMF)(H2O)3 (1) and Zn(L)·(HDMA)2(DMF)(H2O)6 (2), were synthesized using a solvothermal method. Both 1 and 2 possess a 3D open framework. These two compounds exhibit strong photoluminescence in suspensions, and their luminescence could be efficiently and selectively quenched by a series of nitroaromatics. Thus, 1 and 2 could be used as excellent luminescent probes for nitroaromatic explosives. Additionally, 1 and 2 could also be utilized as the sensing platforms for DNA strands, which is attributed to their different affinities for single- and double-stranded DNAs. With this method, 0.05 nM of target DNA could be detected, and the selectivity could be down to a single nucleotide mismatch. This work shows the potential of MOFs for the sensing of versatile chemicals.

A new coordination polymer which shows an unusual 2D inorganic connectivity was constructed. This compound exhibits distinct fluorescence quenching ability to the dye-labeled single-stranded DNA probes with different lengths, based on which an analytical method was developed for the activity assay of deoxyribonuclease I.