Inside Cover: Effects of Au Loading and CO 2 Addition on Photocatalytic Selective Phenol Oxidation over TiO 2 ‐Supported Au Nanoparticles (ChemCatChem 3/2013)

Selective oxidation The inside cover picture shows a mystique of TiO 2 ‐supported Au nanoparticles as a photocatalyst for partial oxidations of organic substrates under sunlight irradiation and a CO 2 atmosphere. In their Full Paper on p. 766 ff. , Y. Ide et al. describe how the photocatalytic oxidation of aqueous phenol to hydroquinone on the catalyst under sunlight is modified to give a higher yield and selectivity if the reaction is conducted under a CO 2 atmosphere. Au loading causes neither the visible light response nor the improved UV light‐induced charge separation efficiency of TiO 2 . A unique role of Au loading in the photocatalysis is proposed; Au nanoparticle loading drastically decreases the amount of the surface titanol, promoting the desorption of the product hydroquinone from the catalyst surface, especially if CO 2 is present in the system.