A New Way of Synthesizing Photoactive Metal–Organic Framework Compounds with Macrocyclic Tetrapyrrole Ligands and Their Activity in the Photo-Oxidation of Anthracene under Visible Light

A fundamentally new approach is proposed for obtaining photoactive metal–organic framework compounds (MOFs). They contain fragments of tetrapyrrol macroheterocycles and exhibit photocatalytic activity in reactions of oxidation of organic compounds. The proposed approach is the preparation of solid solutions of a tetrapyrrole sensitizer (in our case, zinc 4,5-octacarboxyphthalocyaninate) in a matrix of non-photoactive aluminum-containing MOFs. It is found that this allows nanomaterials to be obtained with a set concentration of the sensitizer, the molecules of which are incorporated into the matrix and are isolated in it. The material is shown to exhibit high photocatalytic activity in the oxidation of anthracene by atmospheric oxygen using a low-power (41 W) lamp to simulate sunlight.