Cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) is an important intermediate
for the
production of phenol, acetone, propylene oxide, and other raw materials
in the petrochemical industry. However, due to the high reaction temperature
and pressure, the current process for the industrial production of
CHP has problems of potential safety hazards and high energy consumption.
In this work, carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with a
unique sandwich structure was discovered as a photocatalyst. It efficiently
activates molecular oxygen in the air, oxidizes cumene (CM) to prepare
CHP, and realizes high atom economy transformation at room temperature,
atmospheric pressure, and solvent-free conditions. The continuous
flow strategy was adopted to improve the gas–liquid mass transfer
efficiency and reduce the phenomenon of back-mixing, thereby reducing
the decomposition of the products and improving the product selectivity.
The conversion rate was the same as that of the batch reaction, reaching
23%. The selectivity of the product CHP increased from 82 to 92%,
and the reaction residence time was shortened from 10 h to 70 min.
The catalysts have the advantages of high efficiency, easy availability,
environmentally friendly, etc., and are recyclable and stable. This
work provides a new strategy for establishing green, sustainable,
clean, and efficient methods for the preparation of peroxides.