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Herein, a dual-modal fluorescent/colorimetric "Signal-On" nanoprobe based on PCN-222 nanorods (NRs) toward phosphate was proposed for the first time. Due to the high affinity of the zirconium node in PCN-222 NRs for phosphate, the structure collapse of PCN-222 NRs was triggered by phosphate, resulting in the release of the tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) ligand from PCN-222 NRs as well as the enhancement of fluorescence and absorbance signals. The PCN-222 NR-based nanoprobe could be employed for phosphate detection over a wide concentration range with a detection limit down to 23 nM. The practical application of the PCN-222 NR-based nanoprobe in real samples was evaluated. Moreover, benefitting from the good biocompatibility and water dispersibility of PCN-222 NRs, this nanoprobe was successfully employed in the intracellular imaging of phosphate, revealing its promising application in the biological science. The present work would greatly extend the potential of nanostructured MOFs in the sensing and biological fields.

Here, a novel colorimetric sensing platform for highly selective detection of Fe3+ in aqueous solutions was developed based on zero-dimensional Zn-MOF-74 [Zn2(DOBDC), DOBDC = 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid] nanodots. The first ultrasmall Zn-MOF-74 nanodots with the average size within 10 nm were successfully synthesized by manipulating the initial conditions with a diluted material system. It was found that the ultrasamll MOF nanodots had a highly selective interaction with Fe3+ and showed a specific blue colorimetric change in aqueous solution. The highly dispersive nature in aqueous solution and high surface-to-volume ratio help MOF-74 nanodots closely interact with the targeted Fe3+ ions with a low limit of detection of 1.04 μM and a fast response within seconds. Finally, we demonstrate that the selective Fe3+ sensing mechanism of Zn-MOF-74 nanodots is due to the selective framework disruption and the formation of Fe-DOBDC salt complex with blue color. It is the first report of nanoscale MOF based colo...