Pillar-Layered Metal-Organic Frameworks for Sensing Specific Amino Acid and Photocatalyzing Rhodamine B Degradation

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have presented potential for detection of specific species and catalytic application due to their diverse framework structures and functionalities. In this work, two novel pillar-layered MOFs [Cd(6)(DPA)(2)(NTB)(4)(H(2)O)(4)](n)·n(DPA·5DMA·H(2)O) (1) and [Cu(2)(DPA)(OBA)(2)](n)·n(2.5DMF·H(2)O) (2) [DPA = 2,5-di(pyridin-4-yl)aniline, H(3)NTB = 4,4′,4′′-nitrilotribenzoic acid, H(2)OBA = 4,4′-oxydibenzoic acid, DMA = N,N-dimethylacetamide, DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide] were successfully synthesized and structurally characterized. Both 1 and 2 have three-dimensional framework structures. The fluorescent property of 1 makes it possible for sensing specific amino acid such as L-glutamic acid (Glu) and L-aspartic acid (Asp). While MOF 2 was found to be suitable for photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in the presence of H(2)O(2). The results imply that MOFs are versatile and metal centers are important in determining their properties.