A new Zn(II)-based 3D MOF with PCU-like topology: Potent photocatalyst for nitrofurazone antibiotic degradation

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a sub-class of coordination polymers, are versatile multidimensional materials that have the potential to serve as photocatalysts for the degradation of antibiotics found in wastewater. Herein, a new three dimensional (3D) Zn(II)-based MOF [Zn(TA)(bpyp)center dot 3H(2)O] (1) (bypy = 2,5-bis(pyrid-4-yl) pyridine; H(2)TA = terephthalic acid) has been synthesized and characterized. The MOF 1 shows a 3D PCU-like topology and exhibits semiconducting properties with band gap of 3.34 eV and hence used as a photocatalyst for photodegradation of antibiotics viz. sulfasalazine (SLA), nitrofurazone (NFZ) and furazolidone (FZD) under simulated UV light irradiation. The photocatalytic results suggest that MOF 1 exhibits best photocatalytic activity for the photodegradation of nitrofurazone (NFZ) in 60 min time-span. The effects of initial concentration of NFZ, and photocatalyst dosage have been monitored for the photocatalytic performance of 1. The radical trapping experiments suggest that (holes) h(+) and superoxide radical (O-2(center dot-)) collectively catalyzes the photodecomposition of antibiotics. The possible mechanism for the antibiotic degradation by photocatalyst 1 have been proposed by integrating experiment with density of states (DOS) calculations and Hirshfeld surface analysis.