Surface Mounted Metal-Organic Frameworks for Advanced Sensing: Construction Strategies, Recent Applications, and Emerging Opportunities With Artificial Intelligence.

Sensors play a vital role in modern production and daily life, where high sensitivity, selectivity, and device integration are increasingly required. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as highly promising materials for sensing applications owing to their high porosity, structural diversity, tunable pore architectures, and tailorable host-guest interactions. However, the practical deployment of MOF powders in sensing devices is often limited by poor processability, random particle packing, and insufficient compatibility with device fabrication. In contrast, surface-mounted metal-organic frameworks (SURMOFs), as highly ordered MOF thin films grown directly on substrates, offer unique advantages for constructing advanced sensing platforms, including controlled orientation, tunable thickness, patterned growth, and excellent compatibility with device integration. In this review, we summarize recent progress in SURMOF-based advanced sensing applications, with emphasis on their fabrication strategies and representative applications in various types of sensors. Particular attention is given to the emerging role of artificial intelligence in SURMOFs synthesis optimization and sensing data processing. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives of SURMOF-based sensing technologies are discussed.