Trimesic acid-bridged metal-complex hydrogen-bonded frameworks MPM-1-TIFSIX with enhanced photocatalysis performance for antibiofouling and degradation applications

A carboxylic acid molecular bridging strategy for modifying M-HOFs is developed. • Synergistic “rigidity-flexibility” balance enhances structure and charge transport. • Charge recombination is significantly suppressed per time-resolved spectroscopy. • Improved photocatalytic degradation and antibacterial performance are achieved. • This work provides a design principle for HOF-based photocatalysts. High-performance photocatalysts are significant for overcoming contemporary energy and environmental challenges. Metal-complex hydrogen-bonded frameworks (M-HOFs) are promising materials, yet they often face the problem of poor charge separation. Herein we suggest a strategy of molecular design to enhance the photocatalytic activity of a standard M-HOF, which is MPM-1-TIFSIX that can be modified by trimesic acid. In this approach, trimesic acid acts as a molecular glue. It comprises both coordination bonds and hydrogen bonds, creating an equilibrium between rigidity and flexibility within the structure. This modification improves the structural ordering and arrangement, and also facilitates charge transport through the material. The experimental results indicate evident lower photoluminescence and longer carrier lifetime which confirms that charge recombination is highly curtailed. This work enhances the performance of M-HOFs in the areas of pollutants degradation, antibiofouling and antibacterial. It also offers the basic guidelines to the directed rationale approach in designing next generation HOF-based photocatalysts. Download: Download high-res image (284KB) Download: Download full-size image