CdSe@CdS nanorods play an important role in a wide range of applications, and are key components in photocatalysis. Utilizing these rods, our group achieved almost 100% photocatalytic photon to hydrogen conversion efficiency, thus displaying the vast potential of these nanostructures. In the course of my research I have examined means for expanding and improving utilization of these rods for photocatalysis, from studying the fundamentals of charge migration along the length of the rods, through coupling of the sensitive cadmium chalcogenides with metal oxide or molecular complexes, as the oxidation cocatalyst, to the development of new applications, and finally design and production of a new hybrid with Ag tip. This seminar will focus on two such research avenues. First, I will introduce means for employing nanorods for highly efficient and selective photocatalytic C-heteroatom cross coupling, with an expanded scope of substrates. Conditions’ optimization, long term stability, and the reaction mechanism will be discussed. Finally, I will present a new strategy that opens up a pathway for avoiding cation exchange and obtaining metallic silver tipping on cadmium chalcogenide nanorods. Great efforts have been devoted to the exploration of a gallery of metal components, each offering different functionality. Silver is a vital catalyst in the production of major industrial chemicals, found in virtually every electronic device, widely exploited as an antibacterial agent, used in fuel cells, and has been extensively investigated for CO2 reduction. Yet, silver nanoparticles were not utilized in conjunction with cadmium chalcogenides colloidal nanostructures, due to the tendency of the Ag+ to undergo cation exchange. I will demonstrate how formation of Ag trioctylphosphine complex, as an intermediate in the course of the Ag deposition on the nanorods, prevents undesirable cation exchange. Metallic Ag was confirmed via several advanced techniques, and moderate control over the tip size, in the range 1.5-5.4 nm, is demonstrated.