Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Selective Reductive Transformations of Organic Compounds: a Review

Ultrafast conversion of carcinogenic 4-nitrophenol into 4-aminophenol in the dark catalyzed by surface interaction on BiPO4/g-C3N4 nanostructures in the presence of NaBH4

“…11,12 Numerous semiconductor materials with appropriate physicochemical or/and photochemical properties have been widely developed and used for the catalytic and photocatalytic transformation of compounds. 13,14 g-C 3 N 4 has been considered as one of the most successful pconjugated polymers over the last decades, due to its high stability, good absorption in the visible light and photoefficiency. 15 Owing to the existence of the lamellar structure, g-C 3 N 4 is always well-crystallized, allowing the transfer of charges.…”

“… 11,12 Numerous semiconductor materials with appropriate physicochemical or/and photochemical properties have been widely developed and used for the catalytic and photocatalytic transformation of compounds. 13,14 …”

Metal-Loaded Semiconductor-Photocatalysis of Alcohols for Selective Organic Synthesis: A Personal Account

“…The concentration of BBO-vacancy of TiO2 is relevant to the photocatalytic viability to promote the bscission. 60 However, it is known that thermally and Figure 15 Reactions of tert-butanol (26) on the TiO2 surface. photocatalytically induced dehydration of 26 giving isobutene (28) is also promoted at the BBO-vacancy.…”

“…In most of the relevant contributions, alcohols have merely been used as sacrificial electron donors to promote desired reductive transformations, such as hydrogenation of unsaturated bonds, and dehalogenation or reductive coupling of organic halides. 26,27 To open up the new potential of alcohols as carbon resources in photocatalysis, we have been focused on the synthetically useful transformations of alcohols by SPs beyond the mere use of alcohols as sacrificial agents.…”

Control of selectivity in organic synthesis via heterogeneous photocatalysis under visible light

“…Because of the different oxidation powers from these oxidative species, the controlled oxidation of organic compounds can be realized via the facile change of external reaction environment (e.g., aerobic/anaerobic and hydrous conditions). Meanwhile, the addition of alcohols (e.g., isopropanol), amines or even H2O can serve as hydrogen donors for the selective reduction with the assistance of holes and electrons from photocatalysts [61,62]. Due to a much weaker reductive ability than the strong reducing reagents like NaBH4, the electrons located at CBM level can precisely tailor the gradual hydrogenation of organic compounds (e.g., nitro, alkyne or aldehyde/ketone groups) instead of the undesired overreduction.…”