Gas-Solid Reaction to Rapidly Construct Chiral MOFs for Efficient Enantioselective Sensing

The efficient integration of chiral building blocks into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is critical for advancing both the streamlined synthesis of chiral MOFs and enantioselective applications in various fields. Herein, we report a gas-solid reaction to achieve rapid synthesis of hierarchically chiral MOFs, CMOF-T and CMOF-S, in the complete absence of templates or solvents. This strategy ensures the full incorporation of chiral precursors into the framework, creating hierarchical porosity and preserving the excellent structural stability. CMOF-S exhibits exceptional enantioselectivity (up to 4.34) toward a diverse range of chiral drugs and drug intermediates, with ultrafast response (∼10 s). Mechanism investigations reveal that the tailored photophysical processes dictate the sensing performance, and enantioselectivity originates from highly selective host-guest interactions between the introduced chemical species and target enantiomers. This work establishes a scalable and sustainable route for the synthesis of chiral MOFs, providing a robust platform for rapid enantioselective sensing.