Three silver-based complexes constructed from organic carboxylic acid and 4,4′-bipyridine-like ligands: Syntheses, structures and photocatalytic properties

•Mixed ligands complexes with Novel sandwich-like structure are constructed from silver ions.•Three complexes are potential wide gap semi-conductive materials.•Three complexes may be excellent candidates for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.

The reactions of AgNO3 with combinations of 4,4′-bipyridine (bpy)/1,2-di(4-pyridyl)ethylene (dpe), and 5-aminophthalic acid (H2ap)/2,6-Naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (H2npdc)/4,4′-stilbenedicarboxylic acid (H2sbdc) in aqueous alcohol/ammonia at room temperature produce crystals of [Ag4(bpy)4](ap)2·11H2O (1), [Ag2(bpy)2](npdc)·2H2O (2) and [Ag2(dpe)1.5(sbdc)0.5](sbdc)0.5·7H2O (3). All complexes 1, 2 and 3 consist of 1D infinite silver-ligand cationic chains, interspersed with organic carboxylate anions that provide charge compensation in the crystal structures. The lattice water molecules are situated among the framework of the crystal structure and show rich hydrogen-bonding interactions, which serve to orientate of the organic carboxylate anions in the crystal packing, while the presence of Ag⋯N and Ag⋯Ag contacts strengthens the frameworks. In addition, complexes 1–3 exhibit good photocatalytic activities for dye decolorization under UV light.

Graphical abstractSilver-based complexes with good photocatalytic properties.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide