Pyridinethiolate‐Capped CdSe Quantum Dots for Red‐Light‐Driven H2 Production in Water

The utilization of low‐energy sunlight to produce renewable fuels is a subject of great interest. Here we report the first example of metal chalcogenide quantum dots (QDs) capped with a pyridinethiolate carboxylic acid (pyS‐COOH) for red‐light‐driven H 2 production in water. The precious‐metal‐free system is robust over 240 h, and achieves a turnover number (TON) of 43910±305 (vs Ni) with a rate of 31570±1690 μmol g −1 h −1 for hydrogen production. In contrast to the inactive QDs capped with other thiolate ligands, the CdSe‐pyS‐COOH QDs give a significantly higher singlet oxygen quantum yield [Φ Δ ( 1 O 2 )] in solution.