Luminescent cellulose-based metal-organic frameworks

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Luminescent metal-organic frameworks (LMOFs) offer designable photoluminescence and molecular recognition, yet their practical use is hindered by brittleness, poor processability, aggregation-caused quenching, and insufficient water stability. Cellulose, the most abundant renewable biopolymer, offers exceptional mechanical robustness, biocompatibility, and processability, serving as an ideal green scaffold for LMOF composites. This review presents a structured, in-depth overview of recent advances in luminescent cellulose-based metal-organic frameworks (LCMs), which are strictly defined as composite materials employing MOFs as the core luminescent/molecular-recognition functional units and cellulose-based substrates as structural scaffolds. First, we elaborate on the fundamental design principles of LCMs, including the structure and classification of cellulose materials, the intrinsic luminescence mechanisms of LMOFs, the luminescence origins of LCMs, and the four core interfacial engineering strategies for LCM construction. Subsequently, we systematically compare the two dominant synthetic methodologies (in-situ growth and pre-synthesis) and five typical macroscopic forms of LCMs, and discuss their respective merits and applicability. Furthermore, we highlight the latest progress in LCMs in diverse cutting-edge applications, including fluorescent sensing, optical anti-counterfeiting and information encryption, solid-state lighting and optoelectronic devices, food safety and freshness monitoring, and biomedical and clinical diagnostics. Finally, we analyze key challenges and propose perspectives on the development of LCMs, offering theoretical insights for guiding the design and application of high-performance, sustainable luminescent composites.