First report on the photocatalytic coupling of carbon dioxide with epoxides to give cyclic carbonates under extremely mild conditions such as room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions using a hybrid photocatalyst consisting of cobalt phthalocyanine grafted on titanium oxide (CoPc/TiO 2 ) under visible irradiation is described. The developed protocol provided almost quantitative conversion of various epoxides to corresponding cyclic carbonates in excellent yields without any evidence for the formation of any byproduct. At the end of the reaction, the photocatalyst was separated by centrifugation and reused for several subsequent recycling runs without any significant loss in activity, and no leaching had been observed during the photocatalytic reactions.

Visible light assisted photocatalytic reduction of nitro-compounds has been found as an efficient and sustainable approach for the production of amines.

Nickel nanoparticle-decorated phosphorous-doped graphitic carbon nitride (Ni@g-PC3N4) was synthesized and used as an efficient photoactive catalyst for the reduction of various nitrobenzenes under visible light irradiation. Hydrazine monohydrate was used as the source of protons and electrons for the intended reaction. The developed photocatalyst was found to be highly active and afforded excellent product yields under mild experimental conditions. In addition, the photocatalyst could easily be recovered and reused for several runs without any detectable leaching during the reaction.