Novel photocatalysts for the decomposition of organic dyes based on metal-organic framework compounds.

Three novel metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) [Co(2)(C(10)H(8)N(2))][C(12)H(8)O(COO)(2)](2), 1, [Ni(2)(C(10)H(8)N(2))(2)][C(12)H(8)O(COO)(2)](2).H(2)O, 2, and [Zn(2)(C(10)H(8)N(2))][C(12)H(8)O(COO)(2)](2), 3, with three-dimensional structures have been synthesized and characterized. The structures of the three compounds appear somewhat related, formed by the connectivity involving the metal polyhedra (Co(4)N trigonal bipyramids in 1, NiO(4)N(2) octahedra in 2, and ZnO(4) tetrahedra and ZnO(3)N(2) trigonal bipyramids in 3), 4,4'-oxybis(benzoate), and 4,4'-bipyridine. The photocatalytic studies on 1-3 indicate that they are active catalysts for the degradation of orange G, rhodamine B, Remazol Brilliant Blue R and methylene blue. The compounds have also been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, IR, thermogravitmetric analysis, UV-vis, photoluminescence, and magnetic studies.