Photocatalytic Activation of C–H Bonds by Spatially Controlled Chlorine and Titanium on the Silicate Layer

Immobilization of isolated dimethyltin species on crystalline silicates through surface modification of layered octosilicate

Single metal atoms supported on silica are attractive catalysts, and precise control of the local environment around the metal species is essential. Crystalline silica is useful as an efficient support for the incorporation of well-defined metal sites. Dimethyltin species were regularly grafted onto the layer surfaces of layered octosilicate, a type of two-dimensional (2D) crystalline silica. Dimethyltin dichlorides react with the surface silanol (SiOH) groups of the silicate layers. The formation of Si-O-Sn bonds was confirmed by 29Si magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis showed the four-coordinated Sn species. These results suggested the presence of well-defined dipodal dimethyltin species on the layer surfaces. The degree of modification of the silanol groups with the dimethyltin groups increased with increasing amounts of dimethyltin dichloride; however, the maximum degree of modification was approximately 50%. This value was interpreted as an alternate modification of the octosilicate reaction sites with dimethyltin groups. These results demonstrate the potential for developing highly active single metal catalysts with a high density of regularly arranged active sites on high surface area supports.

Cl2 ⋅- Mediates Direct and Selective Conversion of Inert C(sp3 )-H Bonds into Aldehydes/Ketones

Developing new reactive pathway to activate inert C(sp3 )-H bonds for valuable oxygenated products remains a challenge. We prepared a series of triazine conjugated organic polymers to photoactivate C-H into aldehyde/ketone via O2 →H2 O2 →⋅OH→Cl⋅→Cl2 ⋅- . Experiment results showed Cl2 ⋅- could successively activate C(sp3 )-H more effectively than Cl⋅ to generate unstable dichlorinated intermediates, increasing the kinetic rate ratio of dichlorination to monochlorination by a factor of 2,000 and thus breaking traditional dichlorination kinetic constraints. These active intermediates were hydrolyzed into aldehydes or ketones easily, when compared with typical stable dichlorinated complexes, avoiding chlorinated by-product generation. Moreover, an integrated two-phase system in an acid solution strengthened the Cl2 ⋅- mediated process and inhibited product overoxidation, where the conversion rate of toluene reached 16.94 mmol/g/h and the selectivity of benzaldehyde was 99.5 %. This work presents a facile and efficient approach for selective conversion of inert C(sp3 )-H bonds using Cl2 ⋅- .

Selective Oxidation of Cyclohexane to Cyclohexanol/Cyclohexanone by Surface Peroxo Species on Cu-Mesoporous TiO2

Selective oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol/cyclohexanone (KA-oil) is an important chemical process, which is still constrained by low conversion and selectivity and high energy consumption. In this study, Cu-doped mesoporous TiO₂ (Cu-MT) has been successfully synthesized via calcinating MIL-125(Ti) doped with copper acetylacetonate, which shows high reactivity in selective oxidation of cyclohexane to KA-oil by persulfate (PS) with the desirable cyclohexane conversion of 16.8% and a selectivity of 98.0% under mild conditions and the low ratio of PS/cyclohexane of 1:1. A series of characterizations and density functional theory calculations reveal that the doped Cu(I,II) on Cu-MT is the reactive site for non-radical activation of PS with the moderate elongation of the O-O bond in PS, which then abstracts 1H (1H⁺ + 1e^-) from cyclohexane to form Cy^• and eventually KA-oil. This study gives new insight on the importance of moderately activated PS in selective oxidation of C-H.

Construction of Bi2WO6 with double active sites of tunable metallic Bi and oxygen vacancies for photocatalytic oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanone

Oxygen-containing organics, which are generated from the selective oxidation of their corresponding hydrocarbons, have high value in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. However, their oxidation reactions are very challenging as the products are more active than the substrates, especially for the oxidation of cyclohexane (CHA). Herein, we focused on the one-step preparation of Bi₂WO₆ with double active sites of tunable metallic Bi and oxygen vacancies (OV-Bi/Bi₂WO₆) by a facile solvothermal treatment. Then, OV-Bi/Bi₂WO₆ was used as an efficient photocatalyst for the partial oxidation of CHA to cyclohexanone (CHA-one) for the first time in air as an oxidant under solvent-free and room temperature conditions. The Bi : Bi₂WO₆ ratio in the as-prepared OV-Bi/Bi₂WO₆ heterojunction could be tailored from 0.08 to 8.43 by controlling the solvothermal temperature, and the synergistic effect between DMF and EG could increase the reduction of MDF/EG and promote the production of Bi. Moreover, OV-Bi/Bi₂WO₆-160 yielded 4.4 and 8.8 times more CHA-one (128.8 μmol) than pure Bi₂WO₆ and metallic Bi, respectively, and achieved 93.6% selectivity to CHA-one in air as an oxidant under solvent-free conditions. The results revealed that the highly enhanced photocatalytic activity was mainly attributed to the superior specific surface area, outstanding photo-absorption, abundant oxygen vacancies, and efficient electron-hole separation. Moreover, for the unique double active sites in OV-Bi/Bi₂WO₆, oxygen vacancies can enhance the adsorption and activation capacity of Bi₂WO₆ for O₂, while metallic Bi can improve the adsorption and activation capacity of Bi₂WO₆ for CHA. Meanwhile, OV-Bi/Bi₂WO₆ also exhibited excellent durability due to the strong interaction between metallic Bi and Bi₂WO₆. The present work provides a flexible approach for tailoring the Bi : Bi₂WO₆ ratio and outlines an effective method for producing CHA-one from CHA under mild conditions.

Hydrothermal Modification of TS-1 Zeolites with Organic Amines and Salts to Construct Highly Selective Catalysts for Cyclopentene Epoxidation

Developing efficient heterogeneous catalysts for cyclic olefins epoxidation is highly attractive for meeting the growing need for various cyclic epoxides. Herein, hierarchical TS-1 zeolite with relatively abundant mesopores and less amount of surface hydroxyl groups was obtained by hydrothermal modification of an as-synthesized TS-1 zeolite with a mixed solution of ammonia, tetrapropylammonium bromide (TPABr) and KCl. The post-modified TS-1 zeolite exhibited much higher catalytic activity (52% conversion) and epoxide selectivity (98%) for the epoxidation of cyclopentene than the conventional TS-1 zeolites. The excellent catalytic activity of the hierarchical TS-1 could be mainly assigned to the enhancement of the mass transport ability and the accessibility of the active Ti species, while the improvement of epoxidation selectivity may be mainly related to the introduction of a certain amount of K+ that can effectively modulate the coordination environment of Ti species as well as the polarity of the zeolite. This work demonstrated that a highly active and selective catalyst for the H2O2-mediated cyclopentene epoxidation could be obtained by concurrently generating mesopore and extinguishing the unfavorable defective hydroxyl groups through the simple hydrothermal treatment of the conventional TS-1 zeolite with a mixed base/salt solution.

Immobilization of Zn4 complex on functionalized Layered HUS-7: Synthesis, Structural Investigation and Catalytic Activity

Tetranuclear Zn (Zn4) complex was selected for the immobilization on novel layered Hiroshima University Silicate (HUS)-7. Modification of HUS-7 was carried out with sulfopropylsilyl agent followed by Zn4 complex incorporation....

Microporous layered silicates: old but new microporous materials

The properties and applications of microporous layered silicates, having both intralayer micropores and interlayer spaces, are reviewed.

Ionic liquid-stabilized vanadium oxo-clusters catalyzing alkane oxidation by regulating oligovanadates

The specific ionic liquid [TBA][Pic]-stabilized vanadium oxo-clusters exist in the form of a trimer and a dimer and are highly active for catalyzing C–H bond oxidation with H₂O₂ as an oxidant.

Modifications of heterogeneous photocatalysts for hydrocarbon C–H bond activation and selective conversion

This feature article summarizes the recent progress in the modification of heterogeneous photocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrocarbons’ C–H bond activation.

Enhancing catalytic aerobic oxidation performance of cyclohexaneviasize regulation of mixed-valence {V16} cluster-based metal–organic frameworks

Size-controllable synthesis of mixed-valence {V₁₆} cluster-based metal–organic frameworks used for highly efficient catalytic oxidation of cyclohexane.