Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Properties of Bismuth (III)-benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate

{[Bi(BTC)(H 2 O) 2 ] · H 2 O} n (H 3 BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) was synthesized by an eco-friendly hydrothermal method and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, IR and UV/Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), and thermogravimetric analyses. The complex featured a 3D metal-organic framework with Bi 2 secondary building units. In the complex, the central Bi 3+ is nine-coordinate, three central Bi atoms and three BTC 3– anions are interconnected into a ring with the dimension of 7.95 × 9.89 Å 2 . Moreover, the complex is decomposed at over 388 °C, showing its highly thermal stability. Further, the complex exhibits photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) solution under UV light irradiation, and its structure can keep consistent with the original one after 9 h photocatalytic reaction, indicating that it is also very stable under UV light. Therefore, it could be anticipated the novel coordination complex will be a stable ultraviolet light catalyst.