Photocatalytic and Ferric Ion Sensing Properties of a New Three-Dimensional Metal–Organic Framework Based on Cuboctahedral Secondary Building Units

A new three-dimensional microporous metal–organic framework based on Zn­(II) clusters with the formula {[Zn7(NDC)5.5(μ4-OH)3]·7DMF}n (1) (H2NDC = 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid) had been synthesized and characterized. The MOF 1 displays an uncommon bsn topology, which is based on a unique heptanuclear Zn7(OH)3(CO2)11 cluster as a secondary building unit. The MOF had been employed as a photocatalyst for the photodegradation of model organic dyes rhodamine B and methyl violet in light. The results of photocatalytic experiments showed that 1 can successfully be employed as the photocatalyst for the benign decomposition of these dyes. A mechanism for the photcatalysis exhibited by 1 had been proposed using the results of density of states (DOS) and partial DOS calculations. The fluorescence properties of the MOF have been investigated, which revealed that 1 could be exploited as the luminescent sensor to recognize Fe3+ ions with perceptible quenching (Ksv = 6.55 × 104 M–1) and a limit of detection of 1.16 ppm.