Photocatalytic Aerobic Oxidative Cleavage of Olefins in Pure Water

Abstract

Photocatalytic oxidative cleavage of C=C bonds to generate aldehydes, ketones and α-halo acetophenones using pure water as solvent is proposed and designed. The green route is realized in presence of FeOx/C3N4 composite catalyst under aerobic condition. The specially prepared FeOx on C3N4 improved the amphiphilicity of the catalyst thus tremendously avoided the agglomeration of the photocatalyst in water, and enhanced utilization efficiency of photo-induced charges. Controlled experiments and ESR result confirmed both hydroxyl and hydrosuperoxide radicals as the key oxidative species in the reaction, which play a crucial role for efficient activation of C=C band. Furthermore, the catalyst is highly stable and can be reused at least 20 times without significant loss of activity.