A Decatungstate Incorporated MOF for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Oxidation of Cyclohexane by Molecular Oxygen

A novel decatungstate incorporated MOF of {[Cu(NPY)2(H2O)]2(W10O32)}·2DMF·3H2O (CuW–NPY; NPY = 3-amino-4,4′-bipyridine) has been synthesized by a diffusion method, and structurally characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectrum, UV–Vis spectrum, diffuse reflectance spectrum, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. CuW–NPY represents a novel decatungstate-based MOF with 1D quadrilateral channels (9.1 Å × 5.6 Å) constructed from Cu–NPY square grids and [W10O32]4− polyoxoanions via strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions. Interestingly, CuW–NPY exhibits remarkable photocatalytic activities for the oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone with O2 under visible-light irradiation. The successful synthesis of CuW–NPY not only enriches decatungstate-based hybrid materials, but also represents the advantages of the decatungstate incorporated MOF for the selective oxygenation of organic compounds by O2.