Recent Progress in Visible-Light-Induced Selective Photocatalytic Oxidation of Alcohols

摘要

Recent progress in visible-light-induced selective oxidation of alcohols mediated by heterogeneous photocatal-ysis, is summarized in this article. Utilizing different photocatalysts and combined catalytic systems via band-gap excitation, ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT), surface plasmon resonance (SPR) or sensitization, aliphatic/aromatic alcohols can be partially oxidized into corresponding aldehydes/ketones with high selectivity (＞94%) in either organic solvents or aqueous media. The reactivity as well as selectivity can be tuned by regulating the polarity of solvents, the surface property of photocatalysts, the oxidation capacity of photogener-ated holes and the structure of alcohols. Deep insight into the selective photocatalytic oxidation of alcohols will promote the application of solar energy for green synthesis of fine chemicals.