Metal-organic frameworks constructed from d-camphor acid: bifunctional properties related to luminescence sensing and liquid-phase separation.

Three metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) [M2(d-cam)2(bimb)2]n · 3.5nH2O (M = Mn for 1, Co for 2) and [Cd8(d-cam)8(bimb)4]n (3) (d-H2cam = d-camphor acid, bimb = 4,4'-bis(1-imidazolyl)biphenyl), solvothermally synthesized, exhibit structural diversity. The charming aspect of these frameworks is that compound 3 is the very first MOF-based sensor for quantitatively detecting three different types of analytes (metal ions, aromatic molecules, and pesticides). And also, both compounds 2 and 3 show rapid uptake and ready regeneration for methyl orange (MO) and can selectively bind MO over methylene blue (MB) with high MO/MB separation ratio.