Fluorescence detection of Al3+ and mechanism exploration based on La-MOF

Al is the most abundant metallic element, and plays an important role in the production of life. However, excessive accumulation of Al3+ in our bodies poses potential threats to our health. Therefore, highly effective detection of Al3+ has been an important issue. In this work, a new La-MOF with a three-dimensional structure (HNU-96) has been synthesized, which can serve as effective fluorescence sensor to Al3+ detection. Due to the ion exchange between La3+ and Al3+ and the weak interaction between Al3+ and O atoms, the fluorescence quenching of the La-MOF was observed. HNU-96 shows high selectivity for Al3+ detection with the limit of detection (LOD) as low as 2.3 × 10−6 M. Furthermore, HNU-96 shows excellent anti-interference for the Al3+ detection. This work provides the feasible strategy for the metal ion detection. A new La-MOF (HNU-96) was synthesized, showing strong fluorescence quenching effect on Al3+ ion, which can be attributed to the ion exchange between La3+ and Al3+ as well as the weak interaction. [Display omitted] •A new La-MOF (HNU-96) with three-dimensional was synthesized.•HNU-96 can serve as fluorescence sensor for Al3+ detection.•HNU-96 shows high selectivity with the LOD of 2.3 × 10−6 mol/L.•The metal ion exchange and weak interaction are the main detection mechanism.