Currently, the development of novel materials, including Metal Organic Materials (MOMs), is a cornerstone in the technological challenges that our society and industry must face, among which outstand the global climate change boosted by the emission of greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels. For these reasons, much of the current research is focusing on the implementation of technologies that can aid in reaching zero–net emissions, such as CO2 capture, storage, and valorization technologies and exploitation of solar energy as a source of renewable energy (for instance, photovoltaic energy) and fuels (for instance, green hydrogen). Another major concern related to human health and the environment is the omnipresence of pollutants spread all over the hydrosphere, such as pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, and dye wastes discharged from the paper, textile, and printing industries. Therefore, the reconstitution of clean water by pollutant removal technologies (eg. advanced oxidation processes, and filtration technologies…) is also a research hotspot for material scientists.
All in all, our project is aimed at developing novel metal–organic materials designed to perform as photocatalysts for hydrogen production, CO2 valorization, the remediation of polluted waters through the photooxidation of persistent organic dyes and/or as light down–shifters (DS) to improve the performance of solar photovoltaic cells. Related to the photocatalytic application, there is still great controversy about what kind of materials deliver the best performance in terms of photocatalytic activity. The most studied and up to now best–performing materials are those based on TiO2 or composite materials incorporating noble metal nanoparticles. However, in this project, we aim to broaden the range of availablematerials employed for these applications including the less explored such as CPs (Coordination Polymers), or MOGs (Metal–Organic Gels) materials. All of these, present interesting features that could make them viable materials for the afore mentioned applications. On the other hand, nowadays employed DS in photovoltaic cells make extensive use of scarce and expensive lanthanides that should be replaced by more affordable luminescence centers. In this context easy to tune luminescent coordination compounds and MOGs, along with the use of lower–cost metal centers (Mn(II), Zn2+, Cu+,…) and cheap organic ligands as building blocks, provide a clear alternative to the lanthanide–based luminescent materials.