Selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-diformylfuran with ZnIn 2 S 4 2D nanosheets and atmospheric O 2 under visible light

Two dimensional (2D) ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheets were synthesized via a trisodium citrate-assisted hydrothermal method and used for the oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) and 5-formyl-2-furan (FFCA) with atmospheric O 2 under visible light irradiation. The conversion of HMF reached 95%, and the DFF selectivity was 70% after 1.5 h of illumination. Photogenerated holes (h + ), ˙O 2 − and carbon-centred radicals are the dominant reaction species.