Detection and removal of antibiotic tetracycline in water with a highly stable luminescent MOF

Antibiotic tetracycline (TC) is a sort of main contaminates in water, and of adverse effect on ecosystems and human health. The development of simple and efficient methods for both detection and removal of TC in water is highly desirable but remains challenging. Herein, a dual-functional platform for detection and removal of antibiotic tetracycline (TC) is developed by a highly stable luminescent zirconium-based MOF (PCN-128Y). The detection is based on the efficient luminescence quenching of the PCN-128Y toward TC. Theoretical/experimental studies reveal that the luminescence quenching can be attributed to a combined effect of the strong absorption of TC at the excitation wavelength and the photo-induced electron transfer process from the ligand of PCN-128Y to TC. The strong cheating metal-ligand bonding between Zr6 nodes and TC through solvent-assisted ligand incorporation is suggested to mainly account for the high adsorption capability of PCN-128Y toward TC in water. The preconcentration of TC within the pores of PCN-128Y induced by the adsorption process makes TC contact with the framework more sufficient, thus significantly enhances the efficiency of TC sensing. This work is the first example demonstrating that MOF materials can integrate the functions of detection and removal of antibiotic TC in water, which highlights the opportunity of luminescent MOFs in the application of wastewater treatment.