AgPWO/CN nanocomposites as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrocarbon selective oxidation

Ag 3 PW 12 O 40 /C 3 N 4 nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by loading Ag 3 PW 12 O 40 into C 3 N 4 , in which case Ag 3 PW 12 O 40 is gained through reaction between AgNO 3 and H 3 PW 12 O 40 at room temperature. The obtained nanocomposites show efficient and light-operated catalytic activity for hydrocarbon selective oxidation (selective oxidation of cyclooctene and cyclohexane) without adding any oxidant at 60 °C. For cyclooctene, the conversion based on cyclooctene is 41.26%, and the selectivity of selective oxidation to epoxycyclooctane can be up to 77.2%. The nanocomposite catalyst yielded oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanone with 8.62% efficiency and >99.0% selectivity. In the catalytic system, the oxidant (H 2 O 2 ) in the catalysis process can be produced by the irradiation of C 3 N 4 and then decomposed into HO· with the help of Ag 3 PW 12 O 40 . The observed improvement in the activities of photo-induced oxidation of cyclooctene and cyclohexane is mainly attributed to the high BET surface area of C 3 N 4 . With the synergistic effect of Ag 3 PW 12 O 40 and C 3 N 4 , the nanocomposite displays considerable catalytic activity, which sheds light on the catalyst design applied in the selective oxidation of hydrocarbon. Ag 3 PW 12 O 40 /C 3 N 4 nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by loading Ag 3 PW 12 O 40 into C 3 N 4 , in which case Ag 3 PW 12 O 40 is gained through reaction between AgNO 3 and H 3 PW 12 O 40 at room temperature.