Stable Ni(II)-based metal-organic framework nanoparticle for efficient photocatalytic C-N coupling reaction

Herein, we successfully obtained a two-dimensional (2D) Ni(II) metal–organic framework with [Ni2(L)(H2O)8]n (JYU-1) by using Ni(NO3)2·6H2O and 5,5'-(phenazine-5,10-diyl)diisophthalic acid (H4L), which were staggered in an ABAB arrangement. The 2D structure layers led to the interpenetration between layers to form a 2D + 2D → three-dimensional (3D) interdigitation frame. JYU-1 was found to exhibit activity for C-N coupling reaction under visible light. The peeling of JYU-1 led to the formation of JYU-1-NP with nanoparticle morphology, which exhibited improved activity for the C-N coupling reaction due to the exposure of more accessible Ni(II) units as well as a lower charge-transfer resistance. This study provides a new and efficient strategy for synthesis of benzoamine compounds and demonstrates the important role of morphology of the catalyst on its performance.