Synthesis, structure, fluorescence and electrochemical properties of a new Zn(II)-organic framework constructed by tricarboxylic acid ligand

At present metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) provide an ideal platform for the preparation of various materials. In this work, a new efficient fluorescent sensor [Zn3(L)(HL)(OH)(H2O)3]•H2O (1) for detecting Cr2O72- anion has been synthesized. The luminescent intensities of compound 1 with various types of anion (I-, PO43-, SO42-, NO3-, CO32-, Br-, Cr2O72-) are investigated. The results demonstrate that compound 1 could be a potential candidate for detecting Cr2O72- anion with high selectivity and sensitivity. Additionally, electrocatalytic water-splitting is one of the most efficient ways to produce clean energy hydrogen, but commercially available catalysts are expensive. Hence a new material (R-C@800) has been prepared after the calcination treatment of compound 1, and it is employed as catalyst material for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in KOH media. The overpotential of R-C@800 at the current density of 10 mA cm-2 is 395 mV. Moreover, the Tafel slope is estimated to be 191 mV/dec by fitting the corresponding Tafel plots extracted from the polarization curves. The results show the R-C@800 is a potential HER material.