Abstract
The present studies highlight the synthesis of bifunctional metal–organic complex (MOC) as a potential adsorbent for environmental remediation and as catalysts for catecholase mimics.
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•The complex is designed and investigated for adsorption capacity towards aromatic hazardous dyes in wastewater.•Complex exhibit high adsorption capacity for methylene blue and methyl orange dyes.•Detailed kinetic studies were also performed to support the adsorption pathway.•Zn(II) complex exhibited good catecholase-like activity with kcat = 0.98⨯102h−1.•The catalytic efficiency was evaluated by Michaelis-Menten enzymatic kinetics.
A dual functional metal–organic complex (MOC) {[Zn(L1)(Cl)2]·DMF} (1), ( L1 = 2-(2-aminophenylbenzimidazole) was synthesized by a solvothermal method and characterized by various analytical techniques. Crystals of 1 were harvested by a solvent evaporation method, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) analysis revealed that 1 adopted a distorted tetrahedral geometry around the central metal ion. The topological simplification of 1 ascertained the simple hcb net. The bulk-phase purity of as-synthesized 1 was confirmed by the decent match of powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns with the simulated patterns. The band gap and chemical reactivity potential of 1 were confirmed by HOMO-LUMO analysis. Complex 1 showed the efficient adsorption of cationic methylene blue (MB) and anionic methyl orange (MO) dyes from wastewater with good uptake. At room temperature and at neutral pH, complex 1 exhibited the highest removal efficiencies (90% and 80%) and adsorption capacities (qe = 116.22 mg/g and 102.62 mg/g) for MB and MO dyes, respectively. The plausible mechanism of cationic and anionic dyes removal is based on insight from structural information and existance of array of non-covalent interactions in complex 1. Additionally, complex 1 was also evaluated for catecholase-like activity in ethanol for the oxidation of 3,5-DTBC to 3,5-DTBQ. Complex 1 showed good catecholase-like activity with potential catechol conversion results, kcat = 0.98⨯102 h−1, KM = 0.0506 M, and Vmax = 0.0485⨯10-3 M min−1.