Photocatalytic water splitting plays a pivotal role for the development of alternative and renewable energy supplies. Systematic bridging ligand design aims to control the stability to the photo- and the catalytic center, to regulate the compounds photophysical properties as well as to enhance the ability to coordinate a variety of different metals as catalytic center. In this regard, ligands containing a N-heterocyclic carbene (NHCs) functionality binding the catalytic center are very promising. This concept has been used previously to stabilize low valent metal species in organometallic catalysis, however their use in photocatalytic water splitting is rare so far.<br/><br/>Here we present novel NHC-based photochemical molecular devices for water reduction with novel 1,3-substituted-1H-imidazo[4,5-f] phenanthrolinium (RR’ip) bridging ligands. Of high interest is their high stability under photocatalytic conditions and in regard to oxygen containing catalysis as well as their tunable photocatalytic activity for hydrogen formation.

NHC-ligands in novel photochemical molecular devices

256th National Meeting (2018)

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