Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. Dept. of Chemistry, 2009.This thesis employs Pt(II) terpyridyl and cyclometalated complexes as the
chromophores to construct photoactive systems for hydrogen production from water.
Several catalysts, including Pt nanoparticles, Pt(II) bi- and terpyridyl chloro
complexes, and cobalt dimethylglyoximate complexes, were investigated to catalyze
the hydrogen production reactions.
Chapter 1, as an introduction part, describes the recent progress in photoinduced
hydrogen production from water, including heterogeneous multiple-component
systems, homogeneous multiple-component systems and an integrated approach to
artificial photosynthesis for photoinduced hydrogen production.
Chapter 2 studies a multiple-component system containing a platinum(II)
terpyridyl acetylide chromophore, a sacrificial donor (TEOA), an electron relay
(MV2+ and diquats) and colloidal platinum catalyst for photocatalytic generation of
hydrogen from water. Hydrogen efficiency varies by using different Pt(II)
photosensitizers and electron relays, as well as the different concentrations of each
species.
Chapter 3 discusses the real role of [Pt(ttpy)Cl]+ and Pt(dcbpy)Cl2 as the
hydrogen production catalysts. TEM, EDAX and mecury tests show the Pt(II) chloro
complexes are only the precursors to form colloidal platinum, which is the real
catalyst for hydrogen generation.
Chapter 4 and chapter 5 study a novel homogeneous system for photochemical
hydrogen production using a cobalt(III) dimethylglyoximate complex as the hydrogen production catalyst and a Pt(II) terpyridyl acetylide complex as the photosensitizer.
Cobalt(III) dimethylglyoximate has been used for hydrogen generation by
electrochemical method. But very few examples have been reported in photochemical
way. The variation of the photosensitizers and cobaloximes are also discussed, as well
as the reaction mechanism.
Chapter 6 discusses a novel terpyridyl cationic complex [Pt(TPPPB)Cl]Cl,
containing a bulky terpyridyl ligand (1-terpyridyl-2,3,4,5,6-pentaphenyl-benzene
(TPPPB)). The complex exhibits reversible vapochromic behavior upon exposure to
methylene chloride vapors, changing color from red to green. The shift to higher
energy in the emission maximum from 654 nm to 514 nm is the largest vapochromic
shift (140 nm) yet reported. The [Pt(TPPPB)Cl]Cl complex exhibits high selectivity
for certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including only methylene chloride,
ethanol, ethyl acetate and acetonitrile. The crystal structures of both the green and red
forms have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction.
Chapter 7 describes the perspectives and future directions in this project. More
potential efficient and stable cobalt complexes are designed and discussed. The
platinum-cobalt supramolecular assemblies towards photochemical molecular devices
show interesting properties for hydrogen production