Synthesis, crystal structure, luminescent, and photocatalytic properties of a uranyl(VI)-organic framework based on tripodal flexible zwitterionic ligand

The uranyl-organic framework based tripodal flexible zwitterion ligand 1,1',1 ''-[benzene-1,3,5-triyltris(methylene)] tris(pyridine-4-carboxylic acid) tribromine (H3LBr3), [(UO2)(2)(mu(3)-O)(mu(2)-OH)L]NO3 center dot nH(2)O (n approximate to 5) (1) has been synthesized under hydrothermal condition and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and UV-visible spectroscopy. Compound 1 contains a tetra-uranyl oxo-cluster, which displays a microporous 3D structure. The fluorescence measurement shows that 1 exhibits strong luminescence. Furthermore, 1 shows good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue.