Ag3PW12O40/C3N4 nanocomposites as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrocarbon selective oxidation

Abstract

Ag₃PW₁₂O₄₀/C₃N₄ nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by loading Ag₃PW₁₂O₄₀ into C₃N₄, in which case Ag₃PW₁₂O₄₀ is gained through reaction between AgNO₃ and H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ at room temperature. The obtained nanocomposites show efficient and light-operated catalytic activity for hydrocarbon selective oxidation (selective oxidation of cyclooctene and cyclohexane) without adding any oxidant at 60 °C. For cyclooctene, the conversion based on cyclooctene is 41.26%, and the selectivity of selective oxidation to epoxycyclooctane can be up to 77.2%. The nanocomposite catalyst yielded oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanone with 8.62% efficiency and >99.0% selectivity. In the catalytic system, the oxidant (H₂O₂) in the catalysis process can be produced by the irradiation of C₃N₄ and then decomposed into HO· with the help of Ag₃PW₁₂O₄₀. The observed improvement in the activities of photo-induced oxidation of cyclooctene and cyclohexane is mainly attributed to the high BET surface area of C₃N₄. With the synergistic effect of Ag₃PW₁₂O₄₀ and C₃N₄, the nanocomposite displays considerable catalytic activity, which sheds light on the catalyst design applied in the selective oxidation of hydrocarbon.