1. Enhanced photocatalytic benzyl alcohol oxidation over Bi4Ti3O12 ultrathin nanosheets.
- Author
-
Shen, Mingchuang, Shi, Yingzhang, Wang, Zhiwen, Wu, Taikang, Hu, Ling, and Wu, Ling
- Subjects
- *
BENZYL alcohol , *NANOSTRUCTURED materials , *LEWIS acids , *ALCOHOL oxidation , *PHOTOCATALYTIC oxidation , *SURFACE interactions , *MONOMOLECULAR films - Abstract
[Display omitted] Ultrathin Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 nanosheets (NS) with the thickness about 3.9 nm were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method and were used as a photocatalyst for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BA) to benzaldehyde (BAD). The photocatalytic performance of NS is about 8 times higher than that of bulk Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12. In-situ FTIR of pyridine adsorption and NH 3 -TPD reveal that NS has more surface Lewis acid sites (Ti4+) for the adsorption and activation of BA. The photogenerated electrons (e-) and holes (h+) of NS can be fully used to produce the superoxide radicals and carbon-centered radicals, respectively. The monolayer nanosheet structure of NS not only greatly promotes the separation of photogenerated carriers, but also achieves the efficient activation of BA molecules via the C O⋯Ti coordination. This work successfully reveals the surface/interface interactions between the surface active sites of a photocatalyst and the reactive molecules via using ultrathin nanosheet as a molecular platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF