Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Water via π–π Stacking Interactions in Perfluorinated Metal–Organic Frameworks

As more prescription and over-the-counter drugs are consumed worldwide, more and more drugs and their metabolites are entering the water stream with a water purification infrastructure not designed for their removal. Eventually this problem in conjunction with increasing amounts of industrially related waste organic molecules (i.e., PAHs) could lead to largescale water contamination. Herein we report a new perfluorinated In-derived metal–organic framework entitled YCM-101 synthesized from InCl3 and tetrafluoroterephthalic acid. YCM-101 is capable of removing the antibiotic tetracycline from aqueous solution, putatively accomplished via π–π stacking interactions of the electron deficient MOF linker and the electron rich aromatic components of tetracycline. This hypothesis was supported by obtained crystal structures of both benzene and pyridine participating in π–π stacking with YCM-101.