Polypyridyl Ru() or cyclometalated Ir() functionalized architectures for photocatalysis

The chemistry of polypyridyl Ru( ii ) and cyclometalated Ir( iii ) derivatives provides long-lasting interest to researchers due to the inherent advantage of their triplet states in a variety of photoactivities. The introduction of Ru(N^N) 3 and Ir(C^N) 2 (X^N) modules into well-defined architectures extends the research areas of both photoactive metal complexes and network chemistry, generating a lot of new opportunities with interesting structural aesthetics and profound functional possibilities. The rapid development of research in integrating Ru( ii ) or Ir( iii ) metallotecons into the architectures has been apparent in recent years which makes this a fascinating subject for reviewing. This review focuses on the design and syntheses of Ru(N^N) 3 and Ir(C^N) 2 (X^N) functionalized architectures of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), metallasupramolecules, organic supramolecules and supramolecular organic frameworks (SOFs). Furthermore, the photocatalytic applications including the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR), photocatalytic oxidation and photoredox catalysis of organic transformation are also presented. The strategies of integrating the well-known photocatalysts Ru(N^N) 3 and Ir(C^N) 2 (X^N) derivatives into the cavities of well-defined architectures and their photocatalytic properties are presented in this review.