Visible light driven photocatalysts based on crystalline microporous metal halogenides received much less attention compared with dense or composite oxide semiconductors. Using the well-known photosensitive transition metal-complexes [TM(2,2-bipy) ] (TM=Fe, Co, Ni, Ru) as templates, a special three-dimensional (3D) metal halogenide framework of [TM(2,2-bipy) ]Cu Br was designed with [Cu Br ] cluster as 4-connected node. These microporous materials feature narrow band gaps and stable visible light driven photocatalytic properties including water reduction to provide H and photodegradation of organic pollutants. The study of electronic band structure shows that the TM complexes effectively prevent the recombination of photo-induced electron/hole pairs leading to excellent photocatalytic activity and photochemical stability. This work represents the first 3D microporous metal halogenides used as visible light driven photocatalyst to provide hydrogen energy.

A series of new inorganic–organic hybrid lead halides have been solvothermally synthesized and characterized with tunable luminescence properties from yellow, orange to red emissions with the largest reported Stokes shift.