Chapter 9: Metal–Organic Frameworks for Sensing Applications

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), also known as coordination polymers, have attracted great attention in the last few years due to their unique chemical and physical properties, such as high crystallinity, high porosity and surface area, tuneable structure, and high thermal stability. In combination with their high catalytic activity and density of active sites, these materials are suitable for use in gas storage and separation, catalysis, and, more recently, imaging and sensing. Many MOF-based sensing platforms have been reported for analytical applications in the biomedical, environmental, safety, and food areas, including the detection of heavy metal ions, anions, small molecules, pesticides, organic compounds, gases, and other important biomolecules. These sensors have shown unique and enhanced performance in chemical sensing with high sensitivity, selectivity, and reliability. Furthermore, by chemical modifications and incorporation of specific materials, MOF-based composites can be used to improve sensor performance, opening the possibility for developing a novel class of sensing devices. This chapter focuses on the recent advances in MOF-based sensors, including different signal transduction strategies (optical, electrochemical, and mechanical), the design of specific MOF-based sensing devices, and their current limitations and challenges to overcome.