Fluorescent Metal-Organic Frameworks for the Detection of Explosive Materials: Current Trends and Future Prospects

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) show exceptional potential for the selective detection of hazardous analytes, including explosives, chemical warfare agents, industrial toxins, and other dangerous forensic analytes. Traditional instrumental techniques for trace explosive detection are often costly and inaccessible, creating a need for alternative solutions. MOFs offer a feasible approach through a fluorescence quenching mechanism, leveraging their tunable porosity and extensive surface area to interact specifically with nitroaromatic compounds/explosives., enabling detectable changes in fluorescence. This innovative methodology shows great potential to amplify explosive detection technologies' accessibility and efficiency. However, various challenges remain the same, such as enhancing selectivity, limit of detection, and operational stability of MOFs. This review highlights the recent advancements in MOFs-based detection strategies for nitro compounds and explosives, highlighting their advantages, challenges, limitations, and future scopes without focusing on any specific compound or detection mechanism. By addressing these limitations, MOFs can further strengthen their role in enhancing rapid and reliable detection methods for hazardous analytes.