Two highly crystalline coordination polymers with two-dimensional PbS networks for photocatalytic synthesis of imines

Two highly crystalline coordination polymers (CPs), namely, Pb-HBT and Pb-BDT, were synthesized from the reaction of Pb(ii) ions with 4-hydroxybenzenethiol (HBT) and 1,4-benzenedithiol (BDT). Both of these CPs display similar layer structures of alternately stacked two-dimensional PbS networks and benzene units according to their crystal structures solved based on high resolution powder X-ray diffraction data. They exhibit high photocatalytic activities for the oxidation reactions of amines to imines under mild conditions, i.e., in air and at room temperature under sacrificial reagent-, co-catalyst- and redox mediator-free conditions.