Fluorescent bacterial cellulose@Zr-MOF via in-situ synthesis for efficient enrichment and sensitive detection of Cr(VI)

Abstract

In this study, for the first time, a new Zr-metal–organic framework (MOF) with strong aggregation-induced emission was successfully grown on bacterial cellulose (BC) using an in situ synthesis method, yielding the fluorescent composite nanofiber BC@Zr-MOF. The BC with abundant hydroxyl groups, which can be uniformly wrapped in the interior of the MOF layer to form BC@Zr-MOF, was used as the growth template. The resulting composite nanofibers had a higher specific surface area (1, 116 m2/g), stronger fluorescence emission and better pH stability than MOF particles. In addition, BC@Zr-MOF exhibited selective recognition and enrichment of Cr2O72− in the aqueous phase and a high adsorption capacity of 90 mg/g. Moreover, because of the high aspect ratio and good tensile strength (6.73 N/mm2), BC@Zr-MOF nanofibers could be readily made into freestanding nanopapers via vacuum filtration, thus solving the molding and recycling problems of MOFs. The facilely prepared test paper could rapidly, sensitively and selectively detect Cr2O72− with the limit of detection (LOD) of 41.8 nM, which is nearly 500 times lower than that of the national drinking water standard. Moreover, the LOD of BC@Zr-MOF nanopapers, when used in combination with circulating filtration, decreases to 6.9 nM owing to the adsorption-enrichment effect.