Photoactive Ag(I)-Based Coordination Polymer as a Potential Semiconductor for Photocatalytic Water Splitting and Environmental Remediation: Experimental and Theoretical Approach

Metal–organic frameworks or metal coordination polymers (CPs) with controlled structure on the micro/nanoscale have attracted intense interest for potential applications in a wide variety of fields, such as energy storage and conversion, chemical and biological sensing, and catalysis. Here, we report a new class of photocatalytic material, Ag(I)-based nano-micro-structured coordination polymer (Ag(I)-CP), which offers performance at a level competitive with known semiconductors in photocatalytic water oxidation and oxidation of organic compounds, such as dye/organic pollutants present in contaminated water. The coordination polymer was synthesized by a wet-chemical route and has been characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. The Ag(I)-CP has notable semiconducting characteristics and charge transfer ability due to ligand-centered charge transfer in combination with metal-to-ligand charge transfer (Ag–O cluster to ligand center), as established from experimental absorption, luminescence, and photoelectrochemical measurements alongside density functional theory calculations. Notably, Ag(I)-CP exhibits a highly reactive valance band potential +3.40 V vs NHE, composed of hybridized state of O 2p and C 2p through the organic linker and Ag 4d; this acts as an active center for the generation of reactive oxygen species, i.e., hydroxyl radical and h + under photocatalytic conditions. Consequently, the photogenerated species facilitate effective oxidations of water and organic contaminants such as tartrazine, rhodamine B, and 2,4-dichlorophenol under UV light irradiation. Furthermore, our results suggest that the Ag(I)-CP could be used as a promising material for the development of heterostructure for a variety of photoassisted redox catalysis reactions.