The development of porphyrin-based metal− organic frameworks (MOFs) has attracted significant interest in the scientific community in recent years because of their versatile applications particularly in optical and electronic fields. In this study, a highly selective and sensitive fluorescent turn-on sensor using a porphyrinic MOF, Tb−TCPP, is presented, which displays a 10-fold fluorescence enhancement in the presence of Al 3+ , Cr 3+ , and Fe 3+ ions. The detection limit is in the nM region. For the Al 3+ ion, it could be visually detected at concentrations as low as 5 mM within 15 min. Tb−TCPP could also be used as an indicator for acidic or alkaline solutions at pH values of >9 and <3. The studies on the detection mechanism illustrate that cation exchange proceed between Tb−TCPP and these M 3+ ions, and consequently, energy transfer from TCPP to Tb 3+ is suppressed and π*−π energy transfer of the porphyrin ligand is significantly enhanced.

The development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) based fluorescence sensors in detection of metal ions attracted significant interests. In this study, a novel 2D MOF Tb-DBA was constructed using Tb3+ and...