Photochemical H2 evolution catalyzed by porphyrin-based cubic cages singly and doubly encapsulating PtCl2 (4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine)

Abstract

A porphyrin-based cubic cage (Cube) was reacted with a Pt(II)-based molecular H2-evolving catalyst, PtCl2 (dmbpy) (PtDmb; dmbpy: 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine), to give Cubes incorporated with one or two equivalents of PtDmb, i.e., Cube(PtDmb) and Cube(PtDmb) 2, which was confirmed by ESI-TOF MS spectroscopy. A photochemical H2-evolving system consisting of EDTA (sacrificial electron donor), [Ru(bpy)3]2+ (photosensitizer), and methylviologen (electron relay) was used to demonstrate that the catalyst encapsulated can also serve as an effective H2-evolving catalyst.