Potocatalytic oxidative degradation of organic pollutant with molecular oxygen activated by a novel biomimetic catalyst ZnPz(dtn-COOH)4

► A novel biomimetic catalyst ZnPz(dtn-COOH)4 was synthesized by template method. ► ZnPz(dtn-COOH)4 was used to activate oxygen for the degradation of Rhodamine B by 80%. ► The mechanism for the oxidative degradation of RhB involves both 1O2 and HO. ► N,N-diehyl-N-ethyl-rhodamine was the main intermediate during RhB degradation. ► The catalyst can be reused several times without losing its catalytic activity.