Lanthanide‒containing titanium-oxo clusters with high aqueous stability for photocatalytic application

• Published in: Journal of molecular structure Vol. 1263; p. 133169
• Main Authors: Li, Na, Yang, Pei, Pan, Meng-Yao, Lv, Xin-Yu, Zou, Guo-Dong, Fan, Yang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 05.09.2022
• Subjects: Aqueous stability; Crystal structure; Lanthanide; Photocatalytic property; Titanium-oxo clusters; Titanium-oxo clusters; Aqueous stability; Lanthanide; Photocatalytic property; Crystal structure
• ISSN: 0022-2860; 1872-8014
• DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.133169

•Two lanthanide-containing titanium-oxo clusters were synthesized and structurally characterized.•The clusters possess ultrahigh stability in aqueous solutions with a wide pH range.•The clusters exhibit favorable performance for the photocatalytic dye degradation and photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization. Increasing the structural stability towards aqueous conditions is a great challenge for titanium-oxo clusters (TOCs). In this study, two lanthanide-containing titanium-oxo clusters formulated as [Er2Ti8(μ3-O)8(μ2-O)2(μ2-OH)2(BA)16] and [Yb2Ti8(μ3-O)8(μ2-O)2(μ2-OH)2(BA)16] (BA = benzoate) were synthesized, which possess ultrahigh stability in aqueous solutions with a wide pH range for at least 1 week. The structures of the clusters were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. It reveals that the high structural stability of the clusters can be attributed to the cage-like cluster core that is fully coordinated by benzoate ligands. The photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties of the clusters were investigated. The clusters exhibit favorable performance for the photocatalytic dye degradation and photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization. The lanthanide-containing titanium-oxo clusters were synthesized which exhibit ultrahigh stability in aqueous solutions with a wide pH range and favorable photocatalytic activity for dye degradation and oxidative desulfurization. [Display omitted]