A new inorganic-organic hybrid compound based on Keggin and 4.4′-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl: Crystal structure and electrocatalytic performance

• A new inorganic-organic hybrid compound was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. • It exhibits two types of Keggin anions and two [Ni 2 (BBPTZ) 5 ] octahedral fragments. • It shows outstanding redox property. • It shows excellent electrocatalytic activity for bromate/nitrite reduction. • It has good application potential in electrochemical sensing. Introducing the flexible ligand of 4,4′-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl (BBPTZ) into the Keggin system, we synthesized a new 2D inorganic-organic hybrid compound of [Ni 2 (BBPTZ) 5 ] 2 [SiMo 12 O 40 ] 2 ·H 2 O ( 1 ) by the hydrothermal method. It exhibits two types of Keggin anions and two [Ni 2 (BBPTZ) 5 ] octahedral fragments, of which five BBPTZ ligands are showing two kinds of configurations, the "U" and "S". Compound 1 displays outstanding electrocatalytic activity for bromate/nitrite reduction, providing excellent potential for application in electrochemical sensing.