Sensing and photocatalytic properties of two zinc(II) coordination polymers containing bis(benzimidazole) ligands

Abstract Two new ternary Zn(II) coordination polymers, namely {[Zn(L1)(PA)].H2O}n (1) and [Zn(L2)(PA)]n (2) (L1 = 1,3-bis(benzimidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene, L2 = 1,4-bis(benzimidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene, H2PA = pimelic acid), were hydrothermally synthesized and characterized. 1 shows a 1D ladder-like chain and can further form 2D supramolecular framework by π−π stacking interactions, while 2 exhibits a 2D (6,3) layer. 1 and 2 show excellent photocatalytic performance on the degradation of methyl violet under UV irradiation, the degradation efficiencies of 1 and 2 can reach 98.5% and 94.8% after 150 min, respectively. Furthermore, 1 and 2 can selectively detect acetylacetone (acac)/Fe3+ and acac/MnO4− ions, separately, via the luminescence quenching process.