Photocatalytic H2 production in aqueous solution with host-guest inclusions formed by insertion of an FeFe-hydrogenase mimic and an organic dye into cyclodextrins

Bio-inspired noble-metal-free supramolecular systems were constructed by host-guest inclusions of an FeFe-hydrogenase mimic and an organic dye into cyclodextrins respectively, which give typically a ninefold increase in the TON, a sixteenfold enhancement in the quantum efficiency, and a threefold extension in lifetime as compared to the same system in the absence of cyclodextrin for photocatalytic H-2 production in aqueous solution.