Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production with Porphyrin Double Deckers

In the present work a series of gadolinium porphyrin double deckers and the corresponding monoporphyrinate derivatives were investigated towards photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The complexes were modified both on the meso- and on the beta- positions of the porphyrin macrocycle. The presence of the double decker was proved essential towards the photocatalytic activity since Gd(TPyP)2 exhibited the higher performance which was 13.8 mmolg-1h-1. A self-assembly investigation of the porphyrin derivatives revealed that different supramolecular architectures can be obtained by varying the solvent mixture and the peripheral substitution, however this did not affect the photocatalytic activity of the complexes.