A non-luminescent Eu-MOF-based "turn-on" sensor towards an anthrax biomarker through single-crystal to single-crystal phase transition.

A porous NH2-MOF-76(Eu) (MOF 1) with unexpected non-luminescence was designed and synthesized. It exhibits selective fluorescence recovery for sensing dipicolinic acid (DPA), a biomarker of Bacillus anthracis. Moreover, a new europium-based MOF (MOF 2) with evident channel changes was obtained through a single-crystal to single-crystal phase transition.