Photochemical production of molecular hydrogen in the presence of substituted acridine salts

Abstract

The photocatalytic properties of new representatives of the family of metal-free catalysts, 10-hydro-9-phenylacridine, 10-methyl-9-phenylacridinium chloride, and 10-phenyl-9-phenylacridinium chloride, were studied with respect to the reaction of molecular hydrogen generation in the presence of acids of different strength (HClO4, CH3SO3H, and CF3COOH) and reducing agents ([Bu4N]Cl, [Bu4N]Br, and [Bu4N]I). It was found that the strength of acids (p K a) and the nature of the reducing agent ( E 0) significantly affect the efficiency, i.e. turnover frequency (TOF), of the process under study. The amount of formed molecular hydrogen reaches its maximum in the case of the combination HClO4 and [Bu4N]I, characterized by minimal p K a and E0 values, respectively. The influence of the nature of substituents at the nitrogen atom in 9-phenylacridine on the efficiency of the molecular hydrogen production was analyzed. It was shown that the limiting stage of the process is the protonation of the formed radical.