A Recyclable Metal-Organic Framework as a Dual Detector and Adsorbent for Ammonia.

Recyclable materials for simultaneous detection and uptake of ammonia (NH ) are of great interest due to the hazardous nature of NH . The structural versatility and porous nature of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) make them ideal candidates for NH capture. Herein, the synthesis of a water-stable and porous 3-dimensional Cu -based MOF (SION-10) displaying a ship-in-a-bottle structure is reported; the pores of the host SION-10 framework accommodate mononuclear Cu -complexes. SION-10 spontaneously uptakes NH as a result of two concurrent mechanisms: chemisorption due to the presence of active Cu sites and physisorption (bulk permanent porosity). The color of the material changes from green to blue upon NH capture, with the shifts of the UV/Vis absorption bands clearly seen at NH concentrations as low as 300 ppm. SION-10 can be recovered upon immersion of SION-10⊃NH in water and can be further reused for NH capture for at least three cycles.