A regenerative metal–organic framework for reversible uptake of Cd(ii): from effective adsorption to in situ detection† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Additional details of experimental procedure, PXRD, additional figures for FJI-H9 and FJI-H10. CCDC 1047502 and 1047503. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c6sc00972g

A metal–organic framework with high adsorption and selectivity for reversible uptake of Cd( ii ) was developed. Both fast detection of Cd( ii ) at low concentration and in situ reconstruction of the used MOF were successfully achieved. An extraordinary metal–organic framework FJI-H9 with high adsorption and selectivity for the reversible uptake of Cd( ii ) has been developed. Further research indicates that such high absorption results from an unusual synergy from active sites and the confined cavity. In addition, fast detection of Cd( ii ) at low concentrations down to 10 ppm and in situ reconstruction of the used framework into a fresh one have also been successfully achieved.