Recent advances in metal-organic framework (MOF)-based agricultural sensors for metal ions: a review

Metal ions have great significance for agricultural development, food safety, and human health. In turn, there exists an imperative need for the development of novel, sensitive, and reliable sensing techniques for various metal ions. Agricultural sensors for the diagnosis of both agricultural safety and nutritional health can establish quality and safety traceability systems of both agro-products and food to guarantee human health, even life safety. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are utilized widely for the design of diversified sensors due to their distinctive structural characteristics and extraordinary optical and electrical properties. To serve agricultural sensors better, this review is dedicated to providing a brief overview of the synthesis of MOFs, the modification of MOFs, the fabrication of MOF-based film electrodes, the applications of MOF-based agricultural sensors for metal ions, which are centered on electrochemical sensors and optical sensors, and current challenges of MOF-based agricultural sensors. In addition, this review also provides potential future opportunities for the development and practical application of agricultural sensors. Graphical abstract