Embedding Lanthanide Organic Polyhedra into Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes.

Organic pollutants cause severe environmental problems because of their damage to human health and ecological systems. Photocatalytic degradation of persistent organic pollutants is of great importance to address these hazards. Herein, we report a lanthanide organic polyhedra-based hybrid material Gd 8 L 12 ⊂MSN with the capability of photocatalytic dye degradation. Gd 8 L 12 ⊂MSN was prepared by embedding the Gd 8 L 12 complex into mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) using a "ship-in-a-bottle" strategy. Photocurrent response tests revealed that this hybrid material is a potential semiconductor and could generate a rapid and steady photocurrent upon irradiation. Further dye degradation experiments indicated that it could photocatalyze the degradation of familiar organic dyes. Thereinto, compared with the critical Gd 8 L 12 complex, the hybrid material exhibited an acceleration of 2.4 times and realized reusability. This not only offers a potential advanced photocatalyst for degrading persistent organic pollutants, but also provides a strategy for the application of supramolecular materials in environmental science.