Fabrication of dual-functional Zr-based MOF incorporating amino and sulfoxide derivatives for simultaneous removal and detection of tetracycline antibiotics

Antibiotics contamination in aquatic environment has attracted considerable interest owing to its detrimental effects on human health and ecological safety. Therefore, developing more efficient materials for synchronous removal and detection of antibiotics is highly desired yet challenging. Herein, one novel zirconium-based metal–organic framework (Zr-MOF) was successfully constructed via a tetra-carboxylate ligand (H4SBTD-NH2) and demonstrated as a dual-functional platform for simultaneous removal and detection of tetracycline antibiotics. The ligand featuring amino and sulfoxide functionalization, facilitates the formation of variable pore sizes and a surface adorned with potential acting sites along the channels. Zr-MOF demonstrated high TCs adsorption capabilities (262.46 and 267.92 mg g−1 for TC and OTC, respectively). In addition to its high uptake, Zr-MOF exhibited exceptional sensitivity in the detection of TCs, particularly through the luminescence quenching effect, with remarkably nanomolar detection limits for TC (LOD 6.14 nM), and OTC (LOD 14.59 nM). These values are comparable to, or even exceed, the other excellent-performing MOF-based materials designed for removing and detecting of TCs. The outstanding performance of Zr-MOF should stem from a synergistic interplay of electron transfer, the inner filter effect (IFE), and specific host–guest interactions. The possible theoretical mechanism was investigated and discussed in detail by DFT calculations. This work provides a design basis for the development of materials that can both detect and remove specific pollutants from wastewater.