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Zeolite‐Supported Gold Nanoparticles for Selective Photooxidation of Aromatic Alcohols under Visible‐Light Irradiation
Author(s) -
Zhang Xingguang,
Ke Xuebin,
Zhu Huaiyong
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201200368
Subject(s) - x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , photochemistry , zeolite , photocatalysis , visible spectrum , adsorption , chemistry , surface plasmon resonance , raman spectroscopy , nanoparticle , selectivity , irradiation , colloidal gold , benzyl alcohol , spectroscopy , catalysis , materials science , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , physics , optoelectronics , optics , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics , engineering
With new photocatalysts of gold nanoparticles supported on zeolite supports (Au/zeolite), oxidation of benzyl alcohol and its derivatives into the corresponding aldehydes can proceed well with a high selectivity (99 %) under visible‐light irradiation at ambient temperature. Au/zeolite photocatalysts were characterised by UV/Vis, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), TEM, XRD, energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Brauner–Emmet–Teller (BET) analyses, IR and Raman techniques. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of gold nanoparticles, the adsorption capability of zeolite supports and the molecular polarities of aromatic alcohols were demonstrated to have an essential correlation with the photocatalytic performances. In addition, the effects of light intensity, wavelength range and the role of molecular oxygen were investigated in detail. The kinetic study indicated that the visible‐light irradiation required much less apparent activation energy for photooxidation compared with thermal reaction. Based on the characterisation data and the photocatalytic performances, we proposed a possible photooxidation mechanism.