A silicotungstate-based copper–viologen hybrid photocatalytic compound for efficient degradation of organic dyes under visible light

Abstract

An efficient visible light responsive compound [Cu(PBPY)]₂[SiW₁₂O₄₀] (1) has been constructed by integrating a Keggin type silicotungstate cluster into an electron-deficient copper–viologen framework. The stable heterogeneous catalyst with a viologen-based electron transfer mediator shows high photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of dye pollutants by comparison with analogous complexes and is easily regenerated without significant loss of activity for the next cycles.