Complexes Based on Zinc and Cadmium for Visible Light-Driven Hydrogen Production.

Photocatalytic water decomposition using solar energy is one of the most effective hydrogen production technologies. The development of a structurally stable photocatalyst for hydrogen production without cocatalysts and photosensitizers remains a great challenge. In this paper, complex photocatalyst compounds and with different crystal structures were designed and obtained by connecting the 4'-(2,4-disulfophenyl)-4,2':6',4″-terpyridine organic ligands with Zn(Ac)·2HO and CdCO. These products were used for photocatalytic hydrogen production separately, and the hydrogen production rates of compounds and were 0.66 mol·mol·h and 0.12 mol·mol·h, respectively, without the addition of any cocatalysts and photosensitizers, and their charge separation and transfer processes were verified by PL, time-resolved PL, and photocurrent. Compound was tested in 6 cycles over 18 h and showed high stability and reproducibility.