Significant photodegradation of carcinogenic organic dyes by a 1D supramolecular heteroleptic Cu(ii) complex under sunlight irradiation

Abstract

The crucial role of supramolecular interactions in determining the supramolecular layer architecture of the heteroleptic Cu(II) complex [Cu(L)(imid)(ClO₄)]_n synthesized from ortho-vaniline based Schiff base and imidazole co-ligands has been investigated through a detailed study of Hirshfeld surface analysis which is at present of huge interest in crystal engineering. The X-ray study showed that the major interactions which particularly take part in the 1D self-assembly include conventional and non-conventional hydrogen bonding and parallel-displaced π⋯π stacking interactions to form a polymeric ladder-like structure of the studied complex. In the presence of supramolecular assemblies, the synthesized Cu(II) complex efficiently degrades methylene blue (MB) (35%) and ethidium bromide (EB) (38%) dyes at 290 minutes under sunlight irradiation. The complex exhibited the highest degradation efficiency of about 95–96% after 48 hours of sunlight exposure, demonstrating the important role of this supramolecular copper(II) complex in effective photo degradation of MB and EB organic dyes under sunlight with its potential application in wastewater treatment and purification. The high performance of the complex is due to its highest photoluminescence lifetime of 22.57 ns.