Solvent-Induced Two Co-Based 3D Metal–Organic Frameworks as Platforms for the High Degradation of Rhodamine B Under Sunlight
Xiaohui Li, Yu Liu, Hong‐Yan Lin, Na Xu, Zhong Zhang, Guo‐Cheng Liu, Xiuli Wang
Abstract
Photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) is an extremely difficult but very important issue in the field of environment protection. Two metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) [Co3(L) (NTB)2(DMA)2]·4DMA (1) and [Co3(L) (NTB)2]·2DMA (2) [L = (E)-4,4′-(ethene-1,2-diyl)bis(N-pyridin-3-yl)benzamide, H3NTB = 4,4′,4″-nitrilotribenzoic acid] were successfully synthesized by tuning the acidity of the solvent under the solvothermal conditions. MOFs 1 and 2 exhibited the same composition but different metal coordination modes, which displayed excellent photocatalytic activities toward the degradation of RhB without any additional oxidants or co-catalysts under true sunlight. The degradation ratio of RhB reached over 96% within 30 min, and the selectivity toward RhB of MOFs 1 and 2 was also investigated. The effect of solvents on the photocatalytic degradation of RhB was explored. In addition, the stable cycle-catalytic efficiencies of 1 and 2 indicated that they possessed not only outstanding photocatalytic activities but also good reusability toward the degradation of organic dye RhB, enabling them to become potential candidates for environmental governance.