Microporous metal–organic frameworks with open metal sites as sorbents for selective gas adsorption and fluorescence sensors for metal ions

Two cluster-based microporous MOFs containing coordination unsaturated metal(II) sites (or open metal(II) sites) have been constructed from boxlike or cagelike {M3}x SBUs. They both exhibit highly selective uptake for CO2 over CH4 and N2 under ambient conditions. More importantly, MOF-1 also provides an ideal luminescence sensor for selective probing Ba2+ and Cu2+ ions based on significant luminescence enhancement or quenching.