Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange in a Zn(II)-based Metal-Organic Framework

A novel 3D Zn(II)-based metal-organic framework [Zn-2(odpt)(bpy)(H2O)](bpy)(0.5) (1) (H(4)odpt = 4,4'-oxidiphthalic acid, bpy = 4,4'-bipydine) has been hydrothermally synthesized, and characterized by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse spectrum, and thermal gravimetric analysis. Compound 1 shows highly efficient photocatalytic activity on the degradation of individual methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO), while exhibits a preferential photocatalytic degradation of MO in the MO/MB mixture under UV light irradiation. The possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed, which was confirmed by trapping experiments of radicals via the addition isopropanol as radical scavenger, and compound 1 exhibits excellent recyclability and stability, which can achieve good degradation efficiency to MB for five runs.