A PTZ-based D–A COF with low exciton binding energy and high charge separation efficiency exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic performance in oxidative amine coupling and cyclization of thioamide reactions.

Here, we introduced a novel thiourea-based rhodamine compound as a chromo-fluorogenic indicator of nerve agent Soman and its simulant diethyl chlorophosphate (DCP). The synthesized probe N-(rhodamine B)-lactam-2-(4-cyanophenyl) thiourea (RB-CT), which has a rhodamine core linked by a cyanophenyl thiosemicarbazide group, enabled a rapidly and highly sensitive response to DCP with clear fluorescence and color changes. The detection limit was as low as 2 × 10⁻⁶ M. The sensing mechanism showed that opening of the spirolactam ring following the phosphorylation of thiosemicarbazides group formed a seven-membered heterocycle adduct, according to MS analysis and TD-DFT calculations. RB-CT exhibited high detecting selectivity for DCP, among other organophosphorus compounds. Moreover, two test kits were employed and successfully used to detect real nerve agent Soman in liquid and gas phase.

Two isoreticular 6-connected Zr ₆ and Hf ₆ cluster based MOFs have been constructed and used for the fast degradation of a nerve agent simulant DMNP with half-lives of less than 5 min.