Metal(ii) complexes synthesized based on quinoline-2,3-dicarboxylate as electrocatalysts for the degradation of methyl orange

Abstract

Based on quinoline-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (H₂L), two metal(II) complexes formulated as MnL(phen)(H₂O)·H₂O (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) (1) and Co(HL)₂(PPA)·4H₂O (PPA = N¹,N⁴-di(pyridin-4-yl)terephthalamide) (2) were synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Both complexes 1 and 2 exhibit one-dimensional (1D) chain-like structures, in which stable five-membered rings are observed. Different chains are linked by strong π–π stacking interactions into a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular architecture. Both complexes can increase the degradation rate of methyl orange (MO), which is expected to be associated with their electrocatalytic activities for the H₂ evolution reaction from water.