Semiconducting Copper(I) Iodide 2D-Coordination Polymers for Efficient Sunlight-Driven Photocatalysis in Dye Degradation

Abstract

The utilization of cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and renewable sunlight-driven photocatalysts is a promising approach for environmental remediation. There has been growing interest in utilizing semiconducting materials for this purpose. Herein, we report, two new semiconducting 2D-coordination polymers (CPs), [Cu 4 (μ 2 -I) 2 (μ 3 -I) 2 (μ 2 -L1) 2 ] n (CP1) and [Cu 2 (μ 2 -I) 2 (μ 2 -L2) 2 ] n (CP2), achieved from the reaction of CuI and isomeric N−S donor ligands. CP1 features Cu 4 I 4 staircase secondary building units (SBUs), while CP2 possesses Cu 2 I 2 rhomboid SBUs. Both CP1 and CP2 demonstrate efficient photocatalytic activity in degrading methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RHB) under sunlight. Notably, both dyes were rapidly degraded with a minimal catalyst loading. CP1 exhibits superior photocatalytic performance over CP2 because of narrower energy band gap and higher metal content, achieving a remarkable 96.75% degradation of MB in 21 min. Excellent photocatalytic performance, high stability, recyclability, and convenient synthesis make these CPs suitable for practical applications in environmental remediation.