Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as drug delivery carriers, with high loading capacity and controllable release behavior can provide a more efficacious therapy in cancer treatments. In our work, a novel biocompatible zinc MOF Zn-cpon-1 with the (3,6)-connected rtl 3D topological network was designed and synthesized via employing ClO anion as template. The optically and chemically stable Zn-cpon-1 could be verified as a pH-responsive dual-emission platform and excellent drug delivery carrier with higher 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (44.75 wt %) loading behavior than 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) (4.79 wt %) ascribed to the influence of size and shape matching. The multiple interactions between Zn-cpon-1 and 5-FU drug molecules have been discussed and evidenced, which could be quantitatively estimated via the rate constant related to the topological structure. Specially, the gust release behavior of 5-FU@Zn-cpon-1 microcrystal was described and programmed via the Weibull distribution model and could be dual-triggered by the temperature and pH stimulus. This study illustrates that the Zn-cpon-1 without any postmodification performs a favorable potential of being used as biomedical drug delivery alternative carriers in effective drug payload, flexible release administration, and superior dual-stimuli responsiveness.

Antibiotic contamination of water bodies is a major environmental concern. Exposure to superfluous antibiotics is an ecological stressor correlated to the development of antibiotic resistance. Thus, it is imperative that effective methods are developed to simultaneously detect and remove such antibiotics so as to avoid inadvertent release. Herein, two flexible three-dimensional (3D) zinc-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) {[Zn2(bcob)­(OH)­(H2O)]·DMA} n (ROD-Zn1) and {[Zn­(Hbcob)]·(solvent)} n (ROD-Zn2) (H3bcob = 1,3-bis­((4′-carboxylbenzyl)­oxy)­benzoic acid) with rod second building units (SBUs) are successfully prepared. Their exceptional water and chemical stabilities (toward both acid and base), fast sorption kinetics, and unique framework endow the MOFs with excellent uptake capacity toward various antibiotics in the aqueous environment. The adsorption performance was further optimized by one-pot preparation of MOF-melamine foam (MF) hybrid composites, resulting in a hierarchical microporous–macroporous MOF@MF system (ROD-Zn1@MF and ROD-Zn2@MF), which are readily recyclable after adsorptive capture. The mechanisms of adsorption have been deeply investigated by static and competitive adsorption experiments. In addition, the MOFs exhibit excellent fluorescent properties and quenched by trace amounts of antibiotics in water solution. Therefore, ROD-Zn1 and ROD-Zn2 present a dual-functional performance, being promising candidates for detection and removal of antibiotics.

The “smart” fluorescent material RhB-CDs@1 contains functions of multicomponent recognition, including the detection of quinolones, tetracyclines, nitrofurans and MnO4− in aqueous solution.

Currently, Spiro-OMeTAD is the most widely used hole transport material (HTM) in the best-performing perovskite solar cells (PSCs), resulting from its suitable energy level and facile processing. However, the intrinsic properties of organic molecules, such as low conductivity and a nonpolar contact interface, will limit the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of Spiro-OMeTAD-based PSCs. Chemical doping could be an effective strategy to ameliorate the performance of Spiro-OMeTAD, and most of the dopants are designed for controllably oxidizing Spiro-OMeTAD. In this work, a highly stable metal–organic framework {[Zn­(Hcbob)]·(solvent)} n (Zn-CBOB) with rod topology and Lewis basic sites is assembled and employed as a dopant for the hole transport layer. It is found that Zn-CBOB not only controllably oxidizes Spiro-OMeTAD and improves the conductivity of the HTM but also passivates the surface traps of the perovskite film by coordinating with Pb2+. The Zn-CBOB-doped PSCs achieved a remarkable PCE of 20.64%. In addition, the hydrophobicity of Zn-CBOB can prevent water from destroying the perovskite layer, which helps elevate the stability of PSCs.

It is very significant that functional porous metal–organic frameworks are used to manufacture hierarchical components to achieve cascading functions that cannot be achieved by a single-layer metal–organic framework (MOF). Here, we report two cases of novel MOFs constructed by the same ligand, Cu­(I)-tpt and Cu­(II)-tpt (Htpt = 5-[4­(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)]­phenyl-2H-tetrazole), and prepared a Cu­(II)-tpt-on-Cu­(I)-tpt membrane by a layer-by-layer approach ignoring the lattice mismatch problem. The first Cu­(I)-tpt layer is grown on an oriented Cu2O nanostructured array by a “one-pot” approach. The aligned second Cu­(II)-tpt layer can be deposited using liquid-phase epitaxy. Notably, the prepared Cu­(II)-tpt-on-Cu­(I)-tpt membrane combines adsorption and fluorescence sensing, which exhibited significant adsorption for Cr2O7 2– (203.25 mg g–1) as typical highly poisonous ions with a fluorescence quenching response. Hence, based on the oxidation–reduction between Cr2O7 2– and p-arsanilic acid (p-ASA), the Cu­(II)-tpt-on-Cu­(I)-tpt membrane’s ability to adsorb Cr2O7 2– could be used to design “on-off-on” mode fluorescence probes to detect p-ASA with high sensitivity (limit of detection (LOD) = 0.0556 μg L–1). p-ASA can be degraded into highly toxic inorganic arsenic compounds in the natural environment and has received widespread attention. Therefore, the integration of adsorption and fluorescence properties makes the Cu­(II)-tpt-on-Cu­(I)-tpt membrane a feasible multifunctional material for pollution control and detection.