Visible-light-absorbing lindqvist-type polyoxometalates as building blocks for all-inorganic photosynthetic assemblies

Abstract

This study reports that polynuclear charge-transfer complexes consisting of Ce3+ and a Lindqvist-type polyoxometalate center, either W 6Ow2-or Mo6O2-, function as an all-inorganic visible-light-absorbing chromophore. The polynuclear Wo 6;O12/Ce and Mo6O19/Ce complexes showed an intense absorption band from the UV region to 520 and 600 nm, respectively. The FTIR and Ce Lm-edge X-ray absorption measurements confirmed that the visible absorption is due to the oxo-bridged W6/Ce 3+ and Mo6+/Ce3+.As polyoxometalates have efficient redox and catalytic properties, their visible-light sensitization could provide a new building block for fabricating inorganic, molecular-based photosynthetic assemblies.