Two Co(II) Isostructural Bifunctional MOFs via Mixed-Ligand Strategy: Syntheses, Crystal Structure, Photocatalytic Degradation of Dyes, and Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation.

The solvothermal reactions involving cobalt ions with 5-methylisophthalic acid (H2MIP) and 1,3-bis(2-methylimidazol)propane (BMIP) yielded two cobalt(II) organic frameworks: {[Co4(MIP)4(BMIP)3]·1/2DMA}n (SNUT-31) and {[Co4(MIP)4(BMIP)3]·(EtOH)2·H2O]}n (SNUT-32) where DMA represents N,N-dimethylacetamide and EtOH signifies ethyl alcohol. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses reveal that SNUT-31 and SNUT-32 possess an isomorphic structure, featuring a unique 2-fold interpenetration of 3D frameworks in a parallel manner. Notably, both SNUT-31 and SNUT-32 demonstrate remarkable performance in electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reactions and exhibit exceptional photocatalytic degradation capabilities against a model comprising three distinct dyes: rhodamine B, methyl orange, and methyl blue.