A triple alkoxo bridged dinuclear cobalt(III) complex mimicking phosphatase and showing ability to degrade organic dye contaminants by photocatalysis

摘要： A dinuclear cobalt(III) complex, [(N3)L1CoIIIL2CoIIIL1] (1), has been synthesized and characterized {H2L1 = 2-((1-hydroxybutan-2-ylimino)methyl)-4-bromophenol and HL2 = 2-amino-1-butanol}. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed its structure. Extended supra-molecular architectures were generated in the complex through weak noncovalent interactions. The energetic features of significant supramolecular interactions have been investigated using DFT calculation and further corroborated with NCI plot index computational tool. The complex has been found to mimic the role of phosphatase enzyme efficiently by transforming 4-nitrophenylphosphate to 4-nitrophenolate at room temperature. The reaction follows Michaelis–Menten enzymatic reaction kinetics with turnover numbers of ~1.4 s-1 in aqueous DMF (98% DMF, v/v) medium. The complex also acts as an efficient photocatalyst for degradation of organic pollutants. Methylene blue (MB), a widely used dye in various industries, was selected as a model pollutant in aqueous media to evaluate the photocatalytic effectiveness of the complex.