Inspired by that nickel complexes can act as molecular catalysts for hydrogen generation from organic acid or water, we choose a nickel(II) complex, [Bz-4-MePy]₂[Ni^II(i-mnt)₂] 1 (i-mnt²⁻ = iso-maleonitriledithiolate, Bz-4-MePy⁺ = 1-benzyl-4′-methylpyridinium ion) as a potential catalyst. Electro- and photochemical investigations show that this nickel complex can act as both an electrocatalyst and a photocatalyst for H₂ generation from water via an unstable nickel hydride intermediate. A homogeneous electrocatalytic system containing complex 1 can afford 577.4 mol of H₂ per mole of catalyst per hour (mol H₂/mol catalyst/h) from neutral water at an overpotential (OP) of 837.6 mV. Together with CdS nanorod (CdS NR) as a photosensitizer, and ascorbic acid (H₂A) as a sacrificial electron donor in a pH 3.5 aqueous solution, under photoirradiation with blue light (λ_max = 469 nm), complex 1 also can provide hydrogen with a turnover number (TON) of 55340 mol of H₂ per mole of catalyst during first 60 h irradiation. The highest apparent quantum yield (AQY) is ∼26.8% at 420 nm.

受镍络合物可作为有机酸或水产生氢的分子催化剂的启发，我们选择了镍（II）络合物[Bz-4-MePy] ₂ [Ni ^II（i-mnt）₂ ] 1（i- 作为潜在催化剂 ，mnt ^2-＝异马来三硫代异硫氰酸酯，Bz-4-MePy ⁺＝ 1-苄基-4'-甲基吡啶鎓离子。电化学和光化学研究表明，该镍络合物既可以用作水也可以通过不稳定的氢化镍中间体生成H ₂的电催化剂和光催化剂。包含配合物1的均相电催化系统每小时可提供577.4 mol H ₂每摩尔催化剂每小时（mol H₂ / mol催化剂/ h），中性水的过电位（OP）为837.6 mV。在蓝光（_λmax  = 469 nm）的光辐射下，在pH 3.5的水溶液中，与作为光敏剂的CdS纳米棒（CdS NR）和作为牺牲电子供体的抗坏血酸（H ₂ A）一起，还可以提供配合物1在最初的60 h照射过程中，氢的转换数（TON）为每摩尔催化剂55340 mol H ₂。在420 nm处，最高表观量子产率（AQY）为〜26.8％。