Synthesis of two different Ni(II) coordination polymers by introduction of carboxylic acid ligands: Crystal structure and photocatalytic properties.

Two novel Ni(II) CPs have been successfully synthesized, which could be good candidates for the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes. • Synthesis of two different Ni(II) coordination polymers by introduction of carboxylic acid ligands. • Frame structure and photodegradation properties of the two complexes have been discussed. • The possible mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of dyes is explored. Two different novel coordination polymers were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions, namely {[Ni(bibp) 3 (H 2 O) 2 ]·2NO 3 ·0.5H 2 O} n (1), [NiL(bibp)] n (2) (H 2 L = 3,3′-azodibenzoic acid, bibp = 4,4′-bis(imidazolyl)biphenyl). Complex 2 is based on the introduction of carboxylic acid ligands on complex 1. These two polymers were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, IR spectra, elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis showed that complex 1 formed a 3D structure by weak force. Complex 2 possesses a uninodal 4-connected 3D (three-dimensional) sql topology framework with the point symbol (44·62). In addition, the photocatalytic degradation properties of the two complexes are investigated. Significantly, complex 1 is a good photocatalyst for the degradation of organic dyes (RhB/MO), complex 2 is a good photocatalyst for the degradation of organic dyes (MB). And the possible photodegradation mechanism was proposed and explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]