The flexibility of CuI chains and the functionality of pyrazine-2-thiocarboxamide keys to obtaining new Cu(I)-I coordination polymers with potential use as photocatalysts for organic dye degradation

This research focuses on two interesting aspects in the synthesis of new coordination polymers (CPs) taking advantage of the lability of coordination bonds. The first is the use of multifunctional and flexible building blocks, such as pyrazine-2-thiocarboxamide (Pyrtca) and CuI, and the second is the modification of the synthetic conditions to expand the amount of different crystalline phases. This means that starting from the same building blocks, we can increase the number of compounds obtained and diversify their final properties, as well as their possible applications. Furthermore, Cu(I)-halogen coordination polymers have been extensively studied for a long time due to their interesting optoelectronic properties. However, despite being usually semiconductors, research related to their possible behavior as photocatalysts is almost non-existent. In this work, we present five compounds, four coordination compounds with formulas [CuI(Pyrtca)]n (CP1), [Cu3I3(Pyrtca)7] (2) [Cu2I2(Pyrtca)]n (CP4 and CP4′) and a transformation of the starting ligand to a cationic imidazole derivative (compound 3) where copper iodine serves as a catalyst. All the compounds have been characterized by different techniques including single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The antibacterial behavior of CP1 against E. Coli DH5, E. Coli BL21, and C. glabrata (CECT 1448), as well as their optoelectronic properties, are also discussed in the work. The value of the band gap obtained (1.91 eV) for the two-dimensional coordination polymer of formula [Cu2I2(Pyrtca)]n (CP4) allows us to study its behavior as a photocatalyst in the degradation of persistent dyes in water with interesting results, achieving a total degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B in 40 min under UV–visible light.