Carboxylate-Assisted Assembly of Zinc and Cadmium Coordination Complexes of 1,3,5-Tri-4-pyridyl-1,2-ethenylbenzene: Structures and Visible-Light-Induced Photocatalytic Degradation of Congo Red in Water

Abstract

Solvothermal reactions of zinc and cadmium nitrates with 1,3,5-tri-4-pyridyl-1,2-ethenylbenzene (tpeb) in the presence of various carboxylic acids including 4-iodobenzoic acid (4-HIBA), benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid (1,4-H2BDC), 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (2,5-H2FDC), 2,5-dibromoterephthalic acid (2,5-H2DBTPA), 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (1,2-H2CHDC), and 1,5-pentanedioic acid (1,5-H2PDC) gave rise to eight coordination complexes, viz, [Zn(tpeb)2(4-IBA)2]·2H2O (1), {[Cd(NO3)(tpeb)(4-IBA)]·H2O}n (2), {[Cd2(NO3)2(tpeb)2(1,4-BDC)]}n (3), {[Cd2(tpeb)2(2,5-FDC)2]·2H2O}n (4), [Cd(tpeb)(2,5-DBTPA)2]n (5), {[Cd2(H2O)2(tpeb)2(1,2-CHDC)2]·H2O}n (6), [Zn(tpeb)(1,2-CHDC)]n (7), and {[Zn(tpeb)(1,5-PDC)]·H2O}n (8). Compound 1 is a discrete mononuclear complex with its Zn(II) center coordinated by two pairs of tpeb and 4-IBA ligands. Compound 2 has a 2D waterfall-like network constructed from bridging [Cd(NO3)(4-IBA)] units with tpeb ligands. Compounds 3, 4, and 5 contain similar 1D [Cd(tpeb)]n chains, which are l...