Photocatalytic and Photoluminescence Studies of a Gel-Grown Metal-Organic Framework of Ba(II) with 1-5-Naphthalenedisulfonic Acid

A metal-organic framework of barium, [Ba(1,5-nds)(H2O)]n (1,5-nds is 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonate) (BaNDST) has been prepared at ambient condition by single gel diffusion technique. The grown crystals were characterized by elemental analysis, single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction studies, thermogravimetry, FT-IR and UV-visible spectral studies. The title compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma and has a three-dimensional network structure which possesses hydrophilic channels. The coordinated water molecule forms bridge between two Ba(II) centres and the Ba–S–O centres constitute twelve and eight membered rings. Thermogravimetric studies confirm that the Ba-MOF is stable up to 259°C. Photocatalytic dye degradation studies upon methylene blue under sunlight show a degradation efficiency of 34% in 3 h duration. BaNDST exhibits strong luminescence emissions at 396 nm upon excitation at 290 nm.