Ascorbate as an electron relay between an irreversible electron donor and Ru(ii) or Re(i) photosensitizers†
Abstract
Ascorbate acts as a reversible electron shuttle between tris(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP) and ReI or RuII photosensitizers. Oxidized ascorbate is recycled up to 50 times by the TCEP → TCEPO redox process which enables 30 000 TONs per WRC in photocatalytic hydrogen production, thus exceeding the performance with pure ascorbate by far.