Rational design, synthesis, and applications of carbon dots@metal–organic frameworks (CD@MOF) based sensors

As promising sensory materials, metal–organic frameworks have been extensively studied; however, the development of fluorescent MOFs relies heavily on the complex organic ligands and lanthanide metal ions, which remains a challenge. To overcome this barrier, carbon [email protected]–organic frameworks ([email protected]) have been proposed and developed. [email protected] composites are newly emerging as fluorescent sensors due to their ease of synthesis, high selectivity and sensitivity to analytes. [email protected] sensors combine the advantages of both CDs and MOFs, including excellent optical properties of CDs (such as tunable emission lights and photochemical stability) and high surface areas, tunable porosity, and designable functionalities of MOFs, resulting in enhanced sensing performance. This review focuses on recent progresses in the rational design and synthesis of [email protected] sensors and their applications in sensing of metal ions, nitroaromatic compounds, water and humidity, temperature, biomarkers, and drugs. We also briefly discuss the present challenges and future research directions for [email protected] sensors.