Photoinduced hydrogen production with the system containing water-soluble viologen-linked porphyrins and hydrogenase

Water-soluble viologen-linked cationic porphyrins (ZnP(CnV)4, n=3–6) and anionic porphyrins (TPPSCnV, n=3–6) were synthesized and their photochemical properties were characterized. The quenching processes of the photoexcited state of porphyrin moiety by the bonded viologen were measured by fluorescence lifetime and laser flash photolysis, and photoinduced hydrogen evolution with ZnP(CnV)4 or TPPSCnV and hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Miyazaki) was performed under steady state irradiation.