Monolayer HNb₃O₈ for Selective Photocatalytic Oxidation of Benzylic Alcohols with Visible Light Response

Abstract

Monolayer HNb3O8 2D nanosheets have been used as highly chemoselective and active photocatalysts for the selective oxidation of alcohols. The nanosheets exhibit improved photocatalytic activity over their layered counterparts. Results of in situ FTIR, DRS, ESR, and DFT calculations show the formation of surface complexes between the Lewis acid sites on HNb3O8 2D nanosheets and alcohols. These complexes play a key role in the photocatalytic activity of the material. Furthermore, the unique structural features of the nanosheets contributed to their high photocatalytic activity. An electron transition from the coordinated alcohol species to surface Nb atoms takes place and initiates the aerobic oxidation of alcohols with high product selectivity under visible light irradiation. This reaction process is distinct from that of classic semiconductor photocatalysis.

Layered niobate KNb 3 O 8 synthesized by thepolymeric precursor method

“…According to these results, a ~7-fold increase of both parameters was observed for the KNb 3 O 8 synthesized by the PP method in relation to the SS one. The BET surface area for the material synthesized by SS method was compatible with the literature [14,20,21].…”

Defective Tungsten Oxide Hydrate Nanosheets for Boosting Aerobic Coupling of Amines: Synergistic Catalysis by Oxygen Vacancies and Brønsted Acid Sites

“…After adsorbing benzylamine molecules, WOH‐D nanosheets exhibit recognizable peaks at 1454, 1495, 1590, and 1603 cm −1 , which are assigned to the adsorbed benzylamine. Specifically, the peaks at 1454 and 1603 cm −1 are indexed to the bending vibrations of CH and NH bonds, respectively, while the bands at 1495 and 1590 cm −1 are associated with the stretching vibrations of benzene ring . In comparison with WOH‐D, the corresponding peaks are much weaker for WO 3 ‐D nanosheets.…”

Efficient visible light-induced degradation of rhodamine B by W(NxS1−x)2 nanoflowers

“…However, it can’t absorb visible light and suffers from fast recombination rate of the photogenerated charge carriers8. In order to overcome these drawbacks, numerous investigations have been devoted to give new types of photocatalysts, where two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials with exotic electronic properties and high specific surface areas are considered to be the good candidates910, as well as, they have attracted tremendous attention in heterogeneous catalysis111213, sensors14, energy storage1516 and electronics171819.…”