Photocatalytic and sensing studies of a new metal-organic framework of Ca(II) with phenylmalonic acid

A new metal-organic framework of Ca(II) with phenylmalonic acid, [Ca(PMA)]_n has been prepared by gel diffusion method. Single crystal X-ray diffraction data show that the crystal belongs to the monoclinic space group C2/c. In the crystal structure, the phenylmalonate ligand adopts bis-monodentate and bidentate coordination modes with the Ca(II) ions. The Ca-phenylmalonate units extend three dimensionally forming a network structure. Thermogravimetric studies confirm that the crystal structure of [Ca(PMA)]_n is stable up to 160 °C. Photocatalytic dye degradation studies on methylene blue under sunlight shows 60.8 % degradation efficiency. When the title compound is excited at 260 nm, strong luminescence emission at 290 nm was observed. Sensing property of [Ca(PMA)]_n with Fe³⁺ ions was also investigated.