Tuning the optical properties of the zirconium-UiO-66 metal-organic framework for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange

A new UiO-66-type zirconium metal organic framework material UiO-66(AN) was prepared by using chromophoric anthracene-9,10-dicarboxylic acid as linker. The large-sized conjugate pi-system in the ligand results in the bathochromic shift of the absorption peaks into the visible light region in the absorption spectrum of UiO-66(AN), compared to those of UiO-66 and analogs UiO-66(NA) made of terephthalate and naphthalene-1,4-dicarboxylic add, respectively. UiO-66(AN) was shown to be an efficient photocatalyst for degradation of methyl orange. Our finding shows promises for the development of more efficient MOFs as photocatalysts by using chromophoric conjugate ligands. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.