Metal Complexes Supported on Solid Matrices for Visible-Light-Driven Molecular Transformations.

Hybridization of visible-light-responsive metal complexes with solid matrices offers an attractive route for practical catalyst design of nanostructured photocatalysts that are operationally simple and can attain unprecedented reactions owing to synergistic effects. This Minireview highlights the precise architectures of hybrid photocatalysts that enable efficient and selective photochemical molecular transformations, including selective oxidation by O2 and H2 evolution from water. Several techniques for the immobilization of metal complexes are discussed, including encapsulation within zeolite cavities, anchoring within mesoporous channels, incorporation within the macroreticular space of ion-exchange resins, intercalation within the interlayer spaces of layered materials, and anchoring onto the plasmonic colloidal Ag nanoparticles. The relationships between photoluminescence characteristics and photocatalytic activities of these hybrid materials are also discussed.