Photocatalytic selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols coupled with hydrogen evolution over CdS/WO_(3) composites

Simultaneously utilizing photogenerated electrons and holes to convert renewable biomass and its derivatives into corresponding value‐added products and hydrogen(H_(2))is a promising strategy to deal with the energy and environmental crisis.Herein,we report a facile hydrothermal method to construct a direct Z‐scheme CdS/WO_(3) binary composite for photocatalytic coupling redox reaction,simultaneously producing H_(2) and selectively converting aromatic alcohols into aromatic aldehydes in one pot.Compared with bare CdS and WO_(3),the CdS/WO_(3) binary composite exhibits significantly enhanced performance for this photocatalytic coupled redox reaction,which is ascribed to the ex‐tended light harvesting range,efficient charge carrier separation rate and optimized redox capabil‐ity of CdS/WO_(3) composite.Furthermore,the feasibility of converting various aromatic alcohols to corresponding aldehydes coupled with H_(2) evolution on the CdS/WO_(3) photocatalyst is proved and a reasonable reaction mechanism is proposed.It is hoped that this work can provide a new insight into the construction of direct Z‐scheme photocatalysts to effectively utilize the photogenerated electrons and holes for photocatalytic coupled redox reaction.

Constructing a Z-scheme Fe-MOF-based heterostructure for visible-light-driven oxidation of aromatic alcohol in ambient air

Photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohol into aromatic aldehyde using O_(2)has received huge atten-tion,while the reaction that occurred in ambient air is rarely studied but follows the green-chemistry principles.Herein,spindle-shaped MIL-53(Fe)-NH_(2)@ZnIn_(2)S_(4)photocatalysts with a Z-scheme heterostruc-ture were facilely developed for photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohol in air under visible light.The benzyl alcohol conversion can be notably enhanced to 73%over the optimal MIL-53-NH_(2)@ZnIn_(2)S_(4)sample with a benzaldehyde production rate of 1825μmol g^(-1)h^(-1).However,in the O_(2)atmosphere,the benzyl alcohol conversion is only 56%,indicating that O_(2)is not required and has an adverse effect on the reaction.The hierarchical structure and Z-scheme heterojunction of MIL-53-NH_(2)@ZnIn_(2)S_(4)impart an efficient separation and strong redox abilities of photo-induced electrons and holes,which are respon-sible for the impressive photocatalytic performance.This study could motivate the ingenious design of Z-scheme heterostructures for green organic conversion based on MOFs.

Aromatic alcohols oxidation and hydrogen evolution over π-electron conjugated porous carbon nitride rods

Photocatalysis using polymeric carbon nitride(CN)materials is a constantly evolving field,where the variation of synthetic procedures allows the constant improvement of activity by tackling the intrinsic limitations of these materials(optical absorbance,specific surface area,charge migration,etc.).Amongst the possible photocatalytic reactions,the most popular application of CNs is the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)from water.In this work,we design precisely-controlled carbon-doped porous CN rods with extended π-electron conjugation from supramolecular assemblies of melem and co-monomers,which partially substitute nitrogen for carbon atoms at the pyrimidine ring of the melem.Dense hydrogen bonds and good thermal stability of the melem-based supramolecular framework allow synthesizing a more ordered structure for improved charge migration;the control from the molecular level over the position of carbon-substituted nitrogen positions tailors the band alignment and photogenerated charge separation.The optimal photocatalyst shows an excellent HER rate(up to 10.16 mmol·h-1·g-1 under 100 W white light-emitting diode(LED)irradiation,with an apparent quantum efficiency of 20.0%at 405 nm,which is 23.2 times higher compared to a reference bulk CN).To fully harness the benefits of the developed metal-free CNs,selective oxidation reaction of aromatic alcohols is demonstrated with high conversion and selectivity.

Sodium Bisulfite： An Efficient Catalyst for Ether Formation via Dehydration of Aromatic/Aliphatic Alcohol

Straightforward etherification of benzyl alcohols （1） via intermolecular dehydration can be efficiently catalyzed by sodium bisulfite under solvent-free conditions. In the presence of 0.3 mol% or 0.6 mol% amount of sodium bisulfite, symmetric and unsymmetric ethers are prepared from the corresponding alcohols in high yields （up to 95%）. Etherification of benzhydryl alcohols is also discussed.

Simultaneous Reduction of Aldehyde Group to Hydroxymethyl Group in Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki Cross-coupling Reaction

The authors presented an efficient method for the palladium-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reaction with the simultaneous reduction of the aldehyde to a hydroxymethyl group.This method allows halide substituted aryl aldehydes to readily react with arylboronic acids,producing polycyclic aromatic alcohols in moderate to good yields.The reaction was catalyzed by Pd（OAc）2（3％,molar fraction） at 150 ℃ in the presence of 6％（molar fraction）1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane（DABCO） and 3 times the molecular weight of K2CO3 in the mixture solvent of N,N-dimethylformamide（DMF）/H2O [V（DMF）∶ V（H2O）=5∶1].