Effective C₂H₂ Separation and Nitrofurazone Detection in a Stable Indium-Organic Framework

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer tunable properties for gas separation and sensing.
• Indium-based MOFs are less explored but show promise due to indium's unique coordination chemistry.
• Developing MOFs with enhanced stability and specific functionalities remains a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel indium-organic framework using mixed carboxylate ligands.
• To investigate the gas adsorption and separation properties of the synthesized framework.
• To evaluate the potential of the material as a luminescence sensor for antibiotic detection.

Main Methods:

• Mixed carboxylate ligand synthesis strategy.
• X-ray diffraction for structural determination.
• Gas adsorption/desorption isotherms and luminescence spectroscopy for property evaluation.

Main Results:

• A new 3D indium-organic framework, (Me2NH2)1.5[In1.5(FBDC)(BDC)]·2.5NMF·CH3CN (1), was successfully constructed.
• Compound 1 exhibits excellent stability across a wide pH range (2-12) and possesses a 3D intersecting pore system modified by fluorine atoms.
• The activated framework demonstrated high selectivity for separating C2H2/CO2 and C2H2/CH4, and showed strong luminescence with high sensitivity and selectivity for nitrofurazone (NZF) detection.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized indium-organic framework demonstrates robust chemical stability and efficient gas separation capabilities.
• The material's luminescence properties enable its application as a highly selective and sensitive sensor for nitrofurazone.
• This work highlights the potential of mixed-ligand indium-organic frameworks in gas separation and chemical sensing applications.