Bi- and terpyridyl platinum(II) chloro complexes: molecular catalysts for the photogeneration of hydrogen from water or simply precursors for colloidal platinum?

Platinum(II) bi- and terpyridyl chloro complexes, Pt(dcbpy)Cl2 and [Pt(ttpy)Cl]+, where dcbpy = 4,4'-dicarboxyl-2,2'-bipyridine and ttpy = 4-tolyl-2,2':6',2''-terpyridine, are used to investigate the nature of the active catalyst for the photocatalytic production of hydrogen from water. In a Pt(II) chloro system that contains a sacrificial electron donor, either MeOH or triethanolamine (TEOA), and titanium dioxide (TiO2) as an electron relay, sizable amounts of H2 can be observed upon UV bandgap irradiation. The quantity of H2 can be significantly reduced in the presence of mercury under the same conditions. Using a known sensitizer, [Pt(ttpy)(phenylacetylide)]+ (1), combined with a Pt(II) chloro complex in a similar system, there is a substantial induction period until the evolution of H2, under visible light (lambda > 410 nm) irradiation. It is suggested that the Pt(II) chloro complexes are simply acting as precursors to Pt colloids that function as the H2 generating catalyst