Unraveling the roles of atomically-dispersed Au in boosting photocatalytic CO_(2)reduction and aryl alcohol oxidation

Atomically-dispersed metal-based materials represent an emerging class of photocatalysts attributed to their high catalytic activity,abundant surface active sites,and efficient charge separation.Nevertheless,the roles of different forms of atomically-dispersed metals(i.e.,single-atoms and atomic clusters)in photocatalytic reactions remain ambiguous.Herein,we developed an ethylenediamine(EDA)-assisted reduction method to controllably synthesize atomically dispersed Au in the forms of Au single atoms(Au_(SA)),Au clusters(Au_(C)),and a mixed-phase of Au_(SA)and Au_(C)(Au_(SA+C))on CdS.In addition,we elucidate the synergistic effect of Au_(SA)and Au_(C)in enhancing the photocatalytic performance of CdS substrates for simultaneous CO_(2)reduction and aryl alcohol oxidation.Specifically,Au_(SA)can effectively lower the energy barrier for the CO_(2)→*COOH conversion,while Au_(C)can enhance the adsorption of alcohols and reduce the energy barrier for dehydrogenation.As a result,the Au_(SA)and Au_(C)co-loaded CdS show impressive overall photocatalytic CO_(2)conversion performance,achieving remarkable CO and BAD production rates of 4.43 and 4.71 mmol g^(−1)h^(−1),with the selectivities of 93%and 99%,respectively.More importantly,the solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of Au_(SA+C)/CdS reaches 0.57%,which is over fivefold higher than the typical solar-to-biomass conversion efficiency found in nature(ca.0.1%).This study comprehensively describes the roles of different forms of atomically-dispersed metals and their synergistic effects in photocatalytic reactions,which is anticipated to pave a new avenue in energy and environmental applications.

Gold nanoparticle stabilization within tailored cubic mesoporous silica:Optimizing alcohol oxidation activity

Stabilizing gold nanoparticles（AuNPs） within a desired size range is critical to realize their promising catalytic performance in many important reactions.Herein,we investigate the anti-sintering properties of cubic mesoporous silica（FDU-12） as a function of pore entrance size.Simple adjustments to the type of organic template and reaction temperature enable the successful synthesis of FDU-12 with controllable entrance sizes（ 3,3-5 and 7 nm）.Excellent anti-sintering properties are observed for FDU-12 with a sub-5-nm entrance size（3-5 nm） over a wide loading concentration（1.0-8.3 wt%） and the AuNPs can be stabilized within a 4.5-5.0-nm range after calcination at 550 ℃in air for 5 h.Smaller entrance size（ 3 nm） prevents ingress of 3-nm AuNPs to the mesopores and results in low loading capacity and sintering.Conversely,FDU-12 possessing a larger entrance size（7 nm） shows promising anti-sintering properties at high loading concentrations,although catalytic performance is significantly lost at lower concentrations（e.g.2.1 wt%,14.2 ± 5.5 nm）.Different anti-sintering mechanisms are proposed for each of the different FDU-12 entrance sizes.Additionally,catalytic data indicates that the obtained 4.5-nm AuNPs supported on FDU-12 with a sub-5-nm entrance size exhibit excellent mass-specific activity（1544 mmol g_（Au）^（-1） h^（-1）） and selectivity（ 99%）at 230 ℃ for the gas-phase selective oxidation of cyclohexanol.

Synthesis of Ni^2+cation modified TS-1 molecular sieve nanosheets as effective photocatalysts for alcohol oxidation and pollutant degradation

lmprovement of the charge separation of titanosilicate molecular sieves is critical to their use asphotocatalysts for oxidative organic transformations.In this work,MFI TS-1 molecular sievenanosheets(TS-1 NS)were synthesized by a low-temperature hydrothermal method using a tai-lored diquaternary ammonium surfactant as the structure-directing agent.Introducing Ni^2+cationsat the ion-exchange sites of the TS-1 NS framework significantly enhanced its photoactivity in aero-bic alcohol oxidation.The optimized Ni cation-functionalized TS-1 NS(Ni/TS-1 NS)provide impres-sive photoactivity,with a benzyl alcohol(BA)conversion of 78.9%and benzyl aldehyde(BAD)se-lectivity of 98.8%using O as the only oxidant under full light irradiation;this BAD yield is approx-imately six times greater than that obtained for bulk TS-1,and is maintained for five runs.The ex-cellent photoactivity of Ni/TS-1 NS is attributed to the significantly enlarged surface area of thetwo-dimensional morphology TS-1 NS,extra mesopores,and greatly improved charge separation.Compared with bulk TS-1,Ni/TS-1 NS has a much shorter charge transfer distance.Theas-introduced Ni species could capture the photoelectrons to further improve the charge separa-tion.This work opens the way to a class of highly selective,robust,and low-cost titanosilicate mo-lecular sieve-based photocatalysts with industrial potential for selective oxidative transformationsand pollutant degradation.

A palladium single-atom catalyst toward efficient activation of molecular oxygen for cinnamyl alcohol oxidation

Selective aerobic oxidation of alcohols under mild conditions is of great importance yet challenging,with the activation of molecular oxygen(O2)as a crucial capability of the catalysts.Herein,we demonstrate that an Al2O3-supported Pd single-atom catalyst leads to higher activity and selectivity compared to Pd nanoparticles for the oxidation of cinnamyl alcohol.The Al2O3 support used in this study is rich in coordinately unsaturated Al3+sites,which are apt for binding to Pd atoms through oxygen bridges and present a distinct metal-support interaction(MSI).The suitable MSI then leads to a unique electronic characteristic of the Pd single atoms,which can be confirmed via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,normalized X-ray absorption near-edge structure,and diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.Moreover,this unique electronic state is proposed to be responsible for its high catalytic activity.With the help of in-situ UV-vis spectra and electron spin resonance spectra,a specific alcohol oxidation route with O2 activation mechanism is then identified.Active oxygen species behaving chemically like singlet-O2 are generated from the interaction of O2 with Pd1/Al2O3,and then oxidize the partially dehydrogenated intermediates produced by the adsorbed allylic alcohols and Pd atoms to the desired alkenyl aldehyde.This work provides a promising path for the design and development of high-activity catalysts for aerobic oxidation reactions.

A review on photo-, electro- and photoelectro- catalytic strategies for selective oxidation of alcohols

Traditional conversion of alcohols into carbonyl compounds exists a few drawbacks such as harsh reaction conditions,production of large amounts of hazardous wastes,and poor selectivity.The newly emerging conversion approaches via photo-,electro-,and photoelectro-catalysis to oxidize alcohols into high value-added corresponding carbonyl compounds as well as the possible simultaneous production of clean fuel hydrogen(H_(2))under mild conditions are promising to substitute the traditional approach to form greener and sustainable reaction systems and thus have aroused tremendous investigations.In this review,the state-of-the-art photocatalytic,electrocatalytic,and photoelectrocatalytic strategies for selective oxidation of different types of alcohols(aromatic and aliphatic alcohols,single alcohol,and polyols,etc.)as well as the simultaneous production of H_(2) in certain systems are discussed.The design of photocatalysts,electrocatalysts,and photoelectrocatalysts as well as reaction mechanism is summarized and discussed in detail.In the end,current challenges and future research directions are proposed.It is expected that this review will not only deepen the understanding of environmentally friendly catalytic systems for alcohol conversion as well as H_(2) production,but also enlighten significance and inspirations for the follow-up study of selective oxidation of various types of organic molecules to value-added chemicals.

PdMoSb trimetallene as high-performance alcohol oxidation electrocatalyst

Metallenes are an emerging class of two-dimensional(2D)material with outstanding potential in electrocatalysis.Herein,we present a new PdMoSb trimetallene produced by a facile wet-chemistry procedure and tested for the alcohol oxidation reaction.PdMoSb shows an extremely high Pd utilization and superior performance toward ethanol,methanol,and glycerol electro-oxidation compared with PdMo and commercial Pd/C catalysts.Experimental results and density functional theory calculations reveal that the enhanced activity relies not only on the high surface area that characterizes the ultrathin 2D metallene structure,but also on the particular electronic configuration of Sb.Sb facilitates OH−adsorption in the reactive-intermediate pathway and strongly enhances the CO tolerance in the poisoning-intermediate pathway for alcohol oxidation.The excellent alcohol oxidation performance of PdMoSb trimetallene demonstrates the high potential of multimetallenes in the field of electrocatalysis.

Interstitial nitrogen-induced efficiency alcohol oxidation over heterogeneous N–CoMn_(2)O_(4) catalyst under visible-light

Developing highly efficient and recyclable photocatalysts through harvesting solar light as energy is crucial to oxidation for industrial implementation,especially for simple transition metal oxidic catalysts without precious/heavy/rare metal dopants.Herein,we like to report the use of nitrogen-doped CoMn_(2)O_(4) oxide(N–CoMn_(2)O_(4))as a heterogeneous catalyst for efficient oxidation of various alcohols such as p/m/o-methyl-substituted aromatic alcohols,p-substituted aromatic alcohols including electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents,heterocycle-based alcohols and secondary aromatic alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes/ketones,under visible light(>420 nm)illumination and mild condition of oxygen as oxidant and room temperature.The relation of various Co-based oxides to their catalytic performance was studied.It is shown that the Co^(2+)species in N–CoMn_(2)O_(4),obviously increased by the doping of nitrogen,are acted as catalytic active species coupled with the synergistic effect between Co and Mn species for the enhanced visible-light selective oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes.A plausible catalytic mechanism is proposed basis of control experiments and published studies,which suggests that this oxidation process probably occurs on Co^(2+)þsites via an ionic reactive oxygen species pathway and ^(1)O2 and O2⋅^(-)species are the reactive oxygen species.This simple transition metal oxide-catalyzed aerobic oxidation provides a green alternative for the manufacture of aldehydes/ketones from alcohols.

Modified electronic structure and enhanced hydroxyl adsorption make quaternary Pt-based nanosheets efficient anode electrocatalysts for formic acid-/alcohol-air fuel cells

Surface/interface engineering of a multimetallic nanostructure with diverse electrocatalytic properties for direct liquid fuel cells is desirable yet challenging.Herein,using visible light,a class of quaternary Pt_(1)Ag_(0.1)Bi_(0.16)Te_(0.29)ultrathin nanosheets is fabricated and used as high-performance anode electrocatalysts for formic acid-/alcohol-air fuel cells.The modified electronic structure of Pt,enhanced hydroxyl adsorption,and abundant exterior defects afford Pt_(1)Ag_(0.1)Bi_(0.16)Te_(0.29)/C high intrinsic anodic electrocatalytic activity to boost the power densities of direct formic acid-/methanol-/ethanol-/ethylene glycol-/glycerol-air fuel cells,and the corresponding peak power density of Pt_(1)Ag_(0.1)Bi_(0.16)Te_(0.29)/C is respectively 129.7,142.3,105.4,124.3,and 128.0 mW cm^(-2),considerably outperforming Pt/C.Operando in situ Fourier transform infrared reflection spectroscopy reveals that formic acid oxidation on Pt_(1)Ag_(0.1)Bi_(0.16)Te_(0.29)/C occurs via a CO_(2)-free direct pathway.Density functional theory calculations show that the presence of Ag,Bi,and Te in Pt_(1)Ag_(0.1)Bi_(0.16)Te_(0.29)suppresses CO^(*)formation while optimizing dehydrogenation steps and synergistic effect and modified Pt effectively enhance H_(2)O dissociation to improve electrocatalytic performance.This synthesis strategy can be extended to 43 other types of ultrathin multimetallic nanosheets(from ternary to octonary nanosheets),and efficiently capture precious metals(i.e.,Pd,Pt,Rh,Ru,Au,and Ag)from different water sources.

Interfacial and Vacancies Engineering of Copper Nickel Sulfide for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction and Alcohols Oxidation Activity

Rational design and construction of highly efficient nonprecious electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and alcohols oxidation reactions(ORR,AOR)are extremely vital for the development of direct oxidation alkaline fuel cells,metal-air batteries,and water electrolysis system involving hydrogen and value-added organic products generation,but they remain a great challenge.Herein,a bifunctional electrocatalyst is prepared by anchoring CuS/NiS_(2)nanoparticles with abundant heterointerfaces and sulfur vacancies on graphene(Cu_(1)Ni_(2)-S/G)for ORR and AOR.Benefiting from the synergistic effects between strong interfacial coupling and regulation of the sulfur vacancies,Cu_(1)Ni_(2)-S/G achieves dramatically enhanced ORR activity with long term stability.Meanwhile,when ethanol is utilized as an oxidant for AOR,an ultralow potential(1.37 V)at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 is achieved,simultaneously delivering a high Faradaic efficiency of 96%for ethyl acetate production.Cu_(1)Ni_(2)-S/G also exhibits catalytic activity for other alcohols electrooxidation process,indicating its multifunctionality.This work not only highlights a viable strategy for tailoring catalytic activity through the synergetic combination of interfacial and vacancies engineering,but also opens up new avenues for the construction of a self-driven biomass electrocatalysis system for the generation of value-added organic products and hydrogen under ambient conditions.

Novel cobalt(Ⅱ) complexes of amino acids-Schiff bases catalyzed aerobic oxidation of various alcohols to ketones and aldehyde

Two cobalt（Ⅱ） complexes 1 and 2 of Schiff bases derived from amino acids were synthesized and used for oxidation of benzyl alcohol with molecular oxygen at different conditions of pH,solvent,temperature and complex/alcohol molar ratio to optimize reaction conditions and to evaluate the catalytic efficiency of new cobalt Schiff base complexes.Under obtained optimum conditions,various alcohols were oxidized to corresponding aldehydes and ketones.

Covalently integrated core-shell MOF@COF hybrids as efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for selective oxidation of alcohols

Building a covalently connected structure with accelerated photo-induced electrons and charge-carrier separation between semiconductors could enhance the photocatalytic performance.In this work,we report a facile and novel seed growth method to coat NH2-MIL-125 MOFs with crystalline and porous covalent organic frameworks(COFs)materials and form a range of NH2-MIL-125@TAPB-PDA nanocomposites with different thicknesses of COF shell.The introduction of appropriate content of COF could not only modify the intrinsic electronic and optical properties,but also enhance the photocatalytic activity distinctly.Especially,NH2-MIL-125@TAPB-PDA-3 with COF shell thickness of around 20nm exhibited the highest yield(94.7%)of benzaldehyde which is approximately 2.5 and 15.5 times as that of parental NH2-MIL-125 and COF,respectively.The promoted photocatalytic performance of hybrid materials was mainly owing to the enhanced photo-induced charge carriers transfer between the MOF and COF through the covalent bond.In addition,a possible mechanism to elucidate the process of photocatalysis was explored.Therefore,this kind of MOF-based photocatalysts possesses great potentials in future green organic synthesis.

Highly Efficient,Green Oxidation of Alcohols Using Novel Heterogeneous Ruthenium Catalyst

MnFe1.4Ru0.45Cu0.15O4 was an effective heterogeneous catalyst for the oxidation of various types of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds using atmospheric pressure of oxygen under mild conditions. Furthermore, this catalyst was also effective towards alcohol oxidation using water as solvent instead of toluene.

Catalytic Performance of Graphite Oxide Supported Au Nanoparticles in Aerobic Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol： Support Effect

Various Au/GO catalysts were prepared by depositing Au nanoparticles on thermally- and chemically-treated graphite oxide （GO） supports using a sol-immobilization method. The surface chemistry and structure of GO supports were characterized by a series of analytical techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, temperature-programmed desorption and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that thermal and chemical treatments have large influence on the presence of surface oxygenated groups and the crystalline structure of GO supports. A strong support effect was observed on the catalytic activity of Au/GO catalysts in the liquid phase aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Compared to the amount and the type of surface oxygen functional groups, the ordered structure of GO supports may play a more important role in determining the catalytic performance of Au/GO catalysts.

State-of-the-art progress in the selective photo-oxidation of alcohols

Photocatalytic oxidation of alcohols has received more and more attention in recent years following the numerous studies on the degradation of pollutants, hydrogen evolution, and CO_(2) reduction by photocatalysis. Instead of the total oxidation of organics in the degradation process, the photo-oxidation of alcohols aims at the selective conversion of alcohols to produce carbonyl/acid compounds. Promising results have been achieved in designing the catalysts and reaction system, as well as in the mechanistic investigations in the past few years. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art progress in the photo-oxidation of alcohols, including the development of photocatalysts and cocatalysts, reaction conditions including the solvent and the atmosphere, and the exploration of mechanisms with scavengers experiment, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy. The challenges and outlook for the further research in this field are also discussed.

Integrating bimetallic AuPd nanocatalysts with a 2D aza-fused π-conjugated microporous polymer for light-driven benzyl alcohol oxidation

Efficient catalytic system with low energy consumption exhibits increasing importance due to the upcoming energy crisis.Given this situation,it should be an admirable strategy for reducing energy input by effectively utilizing incident solar energy as a heat source during catalytic reactions.Herein,aza-fused7 r-conjugated microporous polymer(aza-CMP)with broad light absorption and high photothermal conversion efficiency was synthesized and utilized as a support for bimetallic AuPd nanocatalysts in light-driven benzyl alcohol oxidation.The AuPd nanoparticles anchored on aza-CMP(aza-CM P/Au_xPdy)exhibited excellent catalytic performance for benzyl alcohol oxidation under 50 mW/cm^2 light irradiation.The improved catalytic performance by the aza-CMP/Au_xPdy is attributed to the unique photothermal effect induced by aza-CMP,which can promote the catalytic benzyl alcohol oxidation occurring at Au Pd.This work presents a novel approach to effectively utilize solar energy for conventional catalytic reactions through photothermal effect.

Ultrathin ZnIn_(2)S_(4)Nanosheets-Supported Metallic Ni_(3)FeN for Photocatalytic Coupled Selective Alcohol Oxidation and H_(2)Evolution

Photocatalytic anaerobic organic oxidation coupled with H_(2)evolution represents an advanced solar energy utilization strategy for the coproduction of clean fuel and fine chemicals.To achieve a high conversion efficiency,the smart design of efficient catalysts by the right combination of semiconductor light harvesters and cocatalyst is highly required.Herein,we report a composite photocatalyst composed of noble metal-free transition metal nitride Ni_(3)FeN decorated on 2D ultrathin ZnIn_(2)S_(4)(ZIS)nanosheets for selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols to aldehydes pairing with H_(2)production.In the composite,ultrathin ZIS serves as a light harvester that greatly shortens the diffusion length of photogenerated charges,while the metallic nitride Ni_(3)FeN acts as an advanced cocatalyst which not only captures the photoelectrons generated from the ultrathin ZIS to promote the charge separation,but also provides active sites to lower the overpotential and accelerate the H_(2)reduction.The best photocatalytic performance is found on ZIS/1.5%M-Ni_(3)FeN,which shows a H_(2)generation rate of 2427.9μmol g^(^(-1))h^(-1)and a benzaldehyde(BAD)production rate of 2460μmol g^(-1)h^(-1),about 7.8-fold as high as that of bare ZIS.This work is anticipated to endorse the exploration of transition metal nitrides as high-performance cocatalysts to promote the coupled photocatalytic organic transformation and H_(2)production.

Catalytic Performance of MnOx Nanorods in Aerobic Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol

Various manganese oxide nanorods with similar one-dimensional morphology were prepared by calcination of MnOOH nanorods under different gas atmosphere and at different temper- atures, which were synthesized by a hydrothermal route. The morphology and structure of MnOx catalysts were characterized by a series of techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and tempera- ture programmed reduction （TPR）. The catalytic activities of the prepared MnO~ nanorods were tested in the liquid phase aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol, which follow a sequence as MnO2〉Mn203~Mn304〉MnOOH with benzaldehyde being the main product. On the basis of H2-TPR results, the superior activity of MnO2 is ascribed to its lower reduction temperature and therefore high oxygen mobility and excellent redox ability. Moreover, a good recycling ability was observed over MnO2 catalysts by simply thermal treatment in air.

Active sites contribution from nanostructured interface of palladium and cerium oxide with enhanced catalytic performance for alcohols oxidation in alkaline solution

Nanostructured interface is significant for the electrocatalysis process. Here we comparatively studied the electrooxidation of alcohols catalyzed by nanostructured palladium or palladium-cerium oxide. Two kinds of active sites were observed in palladium-cerium oxide system, attributing to the co-action of Pd-cerium oxide interface and Pd sites alone, by CO stripping technique, a structure-sensitive process generally employed to probe the active sites. Active sites resulting from the nanostructured interfacial contact of Pd and cerium oxide were confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical CO stripping approaches. Electrochemical measurements of cyclic voltammetry and chronometry results demonstrated that Pd-cerium oxide catalysts exhibited much higher catalytic performances for alcohols oxidation than Pd alone in terms of activity, stability and anti-poisoning ability.The improved performance was probably attributed to the nanostructured active interface in which the catalytic ability from each component can be maximized through the synergistic action of bi-functional mechanism and electronic effect. The calculated catalytic efficiency of such active sites was many times higher than that of the Pd active sites alone. The present work showed the significance of valid nanostructured interface design and fabrication in the advanced catalysis system.

Highly efficient oxidation of alcohols using Oxone~ as oxidant catalyzed by ruthenium complex under mild reaction conditions

Aromatic and alkyl alcohols were oxidized to the corresponding aldehydes or ketones at room temperature with high conversion and selectivity using Oxone （2KHSOs-KHSO4.K2SO4） as oxidant catalyzed by ruthenium complex Quin-Ru-Quin （where Quin = 8-hydroxyquinoline）. The reaction time is very short and the preparation of complex is simple.

Nanocarbon catalysts with co-active S−P−C sites enhance metal-free direct oxidation of alcohols

In this study,a sulfur–phosphorus co-doped nanocarbon(SPC)catalyst was syn-thesized using a straightforward one-step colloidal carbonization method and demonstrated high performance in the metal-free direct oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes.This metal-free SPC catalyst showed exceptional efficiency,achiev-ing a conversion rate of 90%for benzyl alcohol and a selectivity of 94%toward benzaldehyde within only 1 h at 130◦C.Moreover,it displays exceptional cycle stability and a high turnover frequency(17.1×10-3 mol g-1 h-1).Theoretical analysis suggested that the catalyst’s superior performance is attributed to the presence of unsaturated edge defects and S-P-moieties,which increase the density of states at the Fermi level,lower the band gap energy,and promote electron localization.Additionally,the doping introduces cooperative co-active S-P-C sites,facilitating a synergistic multisite catalytic effect that lowers the energy barriers.These findings represent a significant advancement in the field of metal-free direct alcohol oxidation.