Selective fluorescent sensing and photocatalytic properties of Zinc(II) and Cadmium(II) coordination architectures with naphthalene-1,5-disulfonate and 2,4,5-tri(4-pyridyl)-imidazole

Abstract Two coordination compounds, namely [M( L )(Htpim) 2 ] n (M = Zn for 1 , M = Cd for 2 , H 2 L  = 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonic acid, and Htpim = 2,4,5-tri(4-pyridyl)-imidazole), were synthesized and structurally characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra and X-ray diffraction analyses. X-ray single crystal diffraction indicates that compounds 1 and 2 were almost isostructural and possess 2D 4 4 frameworks. They displayed highly sensitivity in the detection of nitrobenzene (NB) as fluorescent sensors. Moreover, 1 exhibited relatively good photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution under UV irradiation.