The role of colloid formation in the photoinduced H2 production with a Ru(II)-Pd(II) supramolecular complex: a study by GC, XPS, and TEM.

The dinuclear RuII-PdII complex shows efficient H2 production in the presence of triethylamine as a sacrificial electron and proton donor under visible light irradiation. XPS and TEM analyses reveal that photoreduction of PdII to Pd0 causes dissociation of Pd from the complex to form colloids that are suggested to be the actual catalyst for H2 production.