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.