New Zn/Cd Coordination Polymers Constructed from Mixed Ligands: Crystal Structures and Photocatalytic Performances Toward Organic Dyes Degradation

Two coordination polymers (CPs), Cd(bpp)(H2O)L (BUC-18) and Zn(bpp)L (BUC-19), (H2L = cis-1,3-dibenzyl-2-imidazolidone-4,5-dicarboxylic acid, bpp = 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane), have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions, and characterized by single crystal X-ray analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), CNH element analysis and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–Vis DRS). Upon the UV light irradiation, BUC-19 exhibited excellent photocatalytic performances toward methylene blue (initial concentration 10 mg L−1), methyl orange (initial concentration 10 mg L−1) and reactive red X-3B (initial concentration 50 mg L−1) with degradation efficiency of 93, 80 and 92%, respectively. The possible mechanism was proposed, which was further confirmed by trapping experiments.