Multifunctional luminescent switch based on a porous PL-MOF for sensitivity recognition of HCl, trace water and lead ion

The development of multifunctional luminescent switch for the detection of different targets is highly desirable because of the complexity of the environment. In this paper, novel porous fluorescent Metal–Organic Framework (HPU-23), which can visually detect gaseous hydrogen chloride (HCl) and trace water from organic solvents through the fluorescence quenching phenomena, are designed. Besides, after the fluorescence of HPU-23 quenching by HCl, HPU-23 can be reopened by gaseous triethylamine (TEA) treatment. HPU-23 also could detect trace water from organic solvents. Although the quenching of fluorescence is also observed, the sensor after sensing H2O cannot be regenerated by any treatment. Besides, another Pb2+ sensor is obtained when a new luminophore, i.e., tris(2,2′-bipyridine) dichlororuthenium(II) hexahydrate (Ru(bpy)32+), is added into an aqueous system containing HPU-23. Therefore, our strategy is a promising broadcast for the development of multifunctional sensors.