Nitrogen-Rich Tetraphenylethene-Based Luminescent Metal-Organic Framework for Efficient Detection of Carcinogens.

The introduction of nitrogen-rich functional groups into a luminescent metal-organic framework (LMOF) can enhance its fluorescent sensing ability. In this work, we designed and synthesized a triazole-containing tetracarboxyl-substituted tetraphenylethene (TPE) ligand, tetrakis[4-(4-carboxyphenyl)(1H-1,2,3-triazol-4,1-diyl)phenyl]ethene (H4TCPTAPE), featuring a prominent aggregation-induced emission (AIE). A highly porous TPE-based LMOF [Zn3(TCPTAPE)(H2O)2(OH)2] (1) with large pores was successfully obtained via solvothermal assembly of the H4TCPTAPE ligand and Zn(II) ions, which showed a high fluorescence quantum yield of 54%. The activated 1 could selectively and sensitively detect aristolochic acid I with a high fluorescence quenching efficiency of 96% and a low detection limit of 1.02 µM, indicating that it has a potential application as a luminescence-based chemical sensor for carcinogens.