Highly sensitive and selective detection of mercury (II) based on a zirconium metal-organic framework in aqueous media

Abstract A novel metal-organic framework (MOF) fluorescent probe UiO-66-PSM is obtained by the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne click (CuAAC) reaction of UiO-66-N3 with phenylacetylene. The click-generated triazole unit can act as the metal binding site to coordinate with Hg2+, which exhibits the most pronounced fluorescence response (rapid response, excellent selectivity, and high sensitivity) over other metal ions. Moreover, it is capable of detecting Hg2+ in environmental water samples without any structural disintegration of the framework, indicating its high potential in practical applications.