Metal-directed interfacial self-assembly of well-defined
coordination
polymer (CP) ultrathin films can control the metal complex arrangement
and distribution at the molecular level, providing a convenient route
for the design and fabrication of novel opto-electrical devices and
heterogeneous catalysts. Here, we report the assembly of two series
of CP multilayers with the transition-metal ions of Fe2+, Co2+, Zn2+ and Tb3+ as connectors
and tripodal terpyridyl ligands of 4,4′,4″-(1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl)tris(1-(4-([2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridin]-4′-yl)benzyl)pyridin-1-ium)
(TerPyTa) and 4,4′,4″-(benzene-1,3,5-triyl)tris(1-(4-([2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridin]-4′-yl)benzyl)pyridin-1-ium)
(TerPyBen) as linkers at the air–water interface. The as-prepared
Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films display strong luminescence, with
the emission wavelength and relative intensity dependent on both the
metal ions and linkers; among them, the Zn-TerPyTa and Zn-TerPyBen
CPs give off the strongest luminescent emission centered at about
370 nm with an emission lifetime of approximately 0.2–0.3 ns.
The Tb-TerPyTa CPs can give off emission at approximately 490, 546,
586, and 622 nm, attributed to the 5D4 to 7F3–6 electron transitions of typical Tb3+ ions. Finally, these CP LB films can act as efficient heterogeneous
photocatalysts for the CO2 reduction to selectively produce
CO. The catalytic efficiency can be optimized by adjusting the experimental
conditions (light sensitizer, electron donor, and water content) and
CP composition (metal ion and ligand) with an excellent yield of up
to 248.1 mmol g–1. In particular, it is revealed
that, under the same conditions, the catalytic efficiency of the Fe-TerPyTa
CP LB film is nearly 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of
the other metalated complexes investigated in the homogeneous system.
UV–vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry studies demonstrated
that the dual active sites of Fe-terpyridine and TerPyTa units contribute
to the enhanced catalytic activity. This work provides an effective
method to introduce the earth-abundant metal complexes into CP films
to construct efficient noble-metal-free photocatalysts for the CO2 reduction.