Coordination Polymers with 2,2':6',2″-Terpyridine Earth-Abundant Metal Complex Units for Selective CO Photoreduction.

Combining molecular metal complexes into coordination polymers (CPs) is an effective strategy for developing photocatalysts for CO reduction; however, most such reported catalysts are noble metal-containing CPs. Herein, two novel Zr-containing bimetallic CPs, and , were designed and successfully synthesized by connecting 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine-based molecular earth-abundant metal (Co or Ni) complexes with ZrO nodes. Both CPs were applied as catalysts for CO photoreduction to selectively produce CO. The catalytic performance of is better than that of with a yield of 3654 μmol (g of catalyst) for CO in 6 h (TON = 18.2). The difference between these two catalysts was analyzed with respect to band structure and charge migration ability. This work provides an effective way to introduce molecular earth-abundant metal complexes into coordination polymers for the construction of efficient noble metal-free CO photocatalysts.