Two novel cation-induced supramolecular polymers with 2-3D polymeric cuprous thiocyanate frameworks: Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activities for the degradation of organic dye contaminants

•Compound 2 possesses 2D supramolecular polypseudorotaxane structure.•Compounds 1 and 2 exhibit good photocatalytic abilities.•Compounds 1 and 2 possess third-order NLO properties.

In order to systematically explore the photocatalytic activity of the inorganic–organic supramolecular polymers induced by 1,1′-(1,n-alkylidene)bis[4-methylpyridinium] (n = 1–2) cations, two novel cation-induced compounds, {(bmpm) [Cu2(SCN)4]}n (bmpm = 1,1′-methylenebis[4-methylpyridinium] (1) and {(bmpe) [Cu2(SCN)4]}n (bmpe = 1,1′-(1,2-ethanediyl)bis[4-methylpyridinium] (2) were obtained and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Compound 1 has a 3D framework with the cations trapped within host network cavities. Compound 2 possesses an infinite 2D supramolecular polypseudorotaxane structure linked by bridging thiocyanate groups. The third-order NLO, optical band gaps and photocatalytic activities of 1 and 2 were also evaluated. Remarkably, both 1 and 2 exhibited good photocatalytic abilities.

Graphical abstractWe report two novel 2-3D supramolecular polymers which possess excellent photocatalytic abilities for dye degradation and may be potential photocatalysts to deal with industrial wastewaters upon exposure to sunlight.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide