Ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) manganese-based metal–organic framework nanosheets for selective photocatalytic oxidation of thioether

Abstract

The efficiency of photocatalysts depends largely on the accessibility of reaction species to the active centre, the electron transfer and geometric matching between the active surface of the catalyst and reaction species. In this work, we successfully synthesized and designed one two-dimensional Mn(II) MOF with [Mn₂(H₂L1)(H₂O)₂(DMF)₂]_n·(CH₃CH₂OH)_n (HSTC 3) by using MnCl₂·4H₂O and 5,5′-(anthracene-9,10-diyl)diisophthalic acid (H₄L1), in which the adjacent layers are stacked with weak interactions, and the huge gap leads to the interpenetration between layers to form a 2D + 2D → 3D interpenetration frame. Based on the particularity of the structure of HSTC 3, ultrasonic wall breaking methods were tried to successfully peel HSTC 3 into nanosheets (HSTC 3-NS), thus achieving a significant improvement in a series of optoelectronic properties due to exposure to more active centres for HSTC 3-NS. These results significantly enhance the photocatalytic selective oxidation of thioether. This study provides a new insight into the post-synthesis modification of MOF photocatalyst and their application in photocatalytic organic synthesis.