Structural Water Synergistic Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Frameworks: A Fluorescent Sensing Platform Oriented for...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Chemical Sensing

Background:

• Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) offer tunable structures for advanced applications.
• Optical sensing requires materials with efficient charge-transfer and photon conversion properties.
• Environmental monitoring necessitates sensitive and rapid detection methods for pollutants like clofibric acid (CLF).

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel single-crystal HOFs using 1,3,5-Tris(4-aminophenyl)benzene (TAPB).
• To investigate the influence of reaction conditions on HOF morphology and optical properties.
• To develop a ratiometric fluorescence sensor for environmental CLF detection.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of HOFs-T and HOFs-TW from TAPB precursor.
• Structural analysis and investigation of optical properties, including charge-transfer and photon conversion efficiency.
• Fabrication of a sensor (CDs@SiO2/HOFs-TW@MIPs) incorporating carbon quantum dots (CDs) and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs).

Main Results:

• HOFs-TW exhibited a unique hexagonal tubular morphology with stable structural water, enhancing charge-transfer and photon conversion efficiency (66.56% quantum yield).
• The developed sensor detected clofibric acid (CLF) in environmental samples with a linear range of 0-360 μM and a detection limit of 0.1775 μM.
• A smartphone-based sensing application utilizing fluorescence test papers provided rapid (within 3 min) and accurate (0.205% relative error) CLF quantification.

Conclusions:

• Single-crystal HOFs can be designed with controlled morphology and enhanced optical properties.
• The developed HOF-based sensor demonstrates high sensitivity and selectivity for clofibric acid detection.
• This work advances fluorescence-based rapid detection and optical sensing for real-time environmental monitoring.