Intramolecular orbital engineered hetero bimetallic Ce-Fe MOF with reduced transition energy and enhanced visible light property

A structurally stable, 3d-4f heterometallic coordination polymer has been solvothermally synthesised and evaluated for its accomplished materials properties. The light absorption activity in the visible band was higher for unique Ce-Fe MOF than that of the homometallic Ce-MOF or Fe- MOF. The intimate overlap of two different metal clusters in heterometallic environmental induced the formation of low line conduction orbital, which ultimately lowered the transition energy. The heterometallic acquired an additional sensitisation from a Fe-μ3-oxo cluster that had vibrantly enhanced the light uptake activity. The vacancy created in the 6s, 5d orbital of Ce in Ce-Fe MOF contributed to the photo-excitation of electrons and reduced the recombination time. This distinct intramolecular arrangement assisted the exciton trapping characteristic. Also, the presence of multiple metal cores in the framework aided to confine the increased number of excitons for a redox reaction. The solar photocatalysis study with acetaminophen revealed these improved materialistic features by degrading it 94.6% with a rate constant of 0.0137 min^?1. The recycle studies confirmed the robust stability of the synthesised MOF.