Designed Cluster Assembly of Multidimensional Titanium Coordination Polymers: Syntheses, Crystal Structure and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Synthesizing highly crystalline titanium-based coordination polymers (Ti CPs) is challenging but crucial for applications like photocatalysis.
• Existing methods often struggle to achieve desired crystallinity and structural diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel cluster-cooperative assembly strategy for synthesizing Ti CPs.
• To explore the structural diversity and photocatalytic potential of these new materials.

Main Methods:

• Utilized bifunctional ligands with carboxylate and N-donor groups to assemble Ti clusters.
• Employed a cluster-cooperative assembly strategy to create various dimensional architectures (0D, 1D, 2D, 3D).
• Incorporated copper iodide dopants (Cu2I2, Cu4I4) into the frameworks.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized Ti CPs with diverse architectures: 0D clusters, 1D tubes/ribbons/helices, 2D layers, and a rare 2D→3D polycatenation framework.
• Incorporated various copper iodide clusters (rhombus-, wing-, tetrahedron-, ladder-shaped).
• Observed strong visible light absorption with narrow band gaps (1.70–2.72 eV) and good photocatalytic activity for organic pollutant degradation.

Conclusions:

• The cluster-cooperative assembly strategy is effective for creating crystalline Ti CPs with tunable structures.
• The synthesized Ti CPs demonstrate potential as efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts.
• Further research into doping and structural modification could enhance photocatalytic performance.