Photochemical H2 Evolution Catalyzed by Porphyrin-based Cubic Cages Singly and Doubly Encapsulating PtCl2(4,4′- dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine)

A porphyrin-based cubic cage (Cube) was reacted with a Pt(II)-based molecular H-2-evolving catalyst, PtCl2(dmbpy) (PtDmb; dmbpy: 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine), to give Cubes incorporated with one or two equivalents of PtDmb, i. e., Cube(PtDmb) and Cube(PtDmb) 2, which was confirmed by ESI-TOF MS spectroscopy. A photochemical H-2-evolving system consisting of EDTA (sacrificial electron donor), [ Ru(bpy)(3)](2+) (photosensitizer), and methylviologen (electron relay) was used to demonstrate that the catalyst encapsulated can also serve as an effective H-2-evolving catalyst.