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Updated: May 24, 2026

Developing Photosensitizer-Cobaloxime Hybrids for Solar-Driven H2 Production in Aqueous Aerobic Conditions
Published on: October 5, 2019
Unsensitized photochemical hydrogen production catalyzed by diiron hydrides
Wenguang Wang1, Thomas B Rauchfuss, Luca Bertini
1School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
Abstract:
The diiron hydride [(μ-H)Fe(2)(pdt)(CO)(4)(dppv)](+) ([H2](+), dppv = cis-1,2-C(2)H(2)(PPh(2))(2)) is shown to be an effective photocatalyst for the H(2) evolution reaction (HER). These experiments establish the role of hydrides in photocatalysis by biomimetic diiron complexes. Trends in redox potentials suggests that other unsymmetrically substituted diiron hydrides are promising catalysts. Unlike previous catalysts for photo-HER, [H2](+) functions without sensitizers: irradiation of [H2](+) in the presence of triflic acid (HOTf) efficiently affords H(2). Instead of sacrificial electron donors, ferrocenes can be used as recyclable electron donors for the photocatalyzed HER, resulting in 4 turnovers.
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