Comparative visible-light driven selective oxidation to aldehydes of phenylmethanol (benzyl alcohol) and 4-pyridinylmethanol (4-pyridinecarbinol) on N-TiO2 and some commercial TiO2 samples.

Visible light (λ > 420 nm) selective photooxidation of phenylmethanol and 4-pyridinylmethanol in CH3CN to the corresponding aldehydes on N-TiO2 is compared with homemade undoped TiO2 (U-TiO2) and commercial undoped anatase specimens (such as PC105, PC500). Significant differences observed between N-TiO2 and undoped TiO2 are neither directly related to the surface area nor to the adsorbed amount of alcohol in the dark by surface area unit. FTIR and EPR spectroscopies are used to study the surface of TiO2 samples and to deeply understand the phenomena intervening in the visible-light photocatalytic activation of the doped vs the undoped oxides. In particular, it is shown that on N-TiO2 (and also on undoped PC105) strong Lewis acid sites (LAS) exist. The favorable role of LAS on the photocatalytic activity is illustrated by the higher photooxidation of 4-pyridinylmethanol vs phenylmethanol over N-TiO2 and PC105 in contrast to the other undoped samples, whose visible light sensitivity originates from a charge transfer between the alcohol and the solid. EPR spectra of N-TiO2 point out the presence of paramagnetic centers related to nitrogen that disappear when the photocatalyst is irradiated with visible light in the presence of alcohol, which starts its oxidative process. On the basis of presented results, we propose that doping with N introduces new intraband gap states that not only contribute to LAS and adsorption of alcohol but also are directly involved in the photochemical process occurring under visible light irradiation.

EPR spin trapping evidence of radical intermediates in the photo-reduction of bicarbonate/CO2 in TiO2 aqueous suspensions.

Using the EPR spin trapping technique, we prove that simultaneous reactions take place in illuminated suspensions of TiO2 in aqueous carbonate solutions (pH ≈ 7). The adsorbed HCO3(-) is reduced to formate as directly made evident by the detection of formate radicals (˙CO2(-)). In addition, the amount of OH˙ radicals from the photo-oxidation of water shows a linear dependence on the concentration of bicarbonate, indicating that electron scavenging by HCO3(-) increases the lifetime of holes. In a weakly alkaline medium, photo-oxidation of HCO3(-)/CO3(2-) to ˙CO3(-) interferes with the oxidation of water. A comparative analysis of different TiO2 samples shows that formation of ˙CO2(-) is influenced by factors related to the nature of the surface, once expected surface area effects are accounted for. Modification of the TiO2 surface with noble metal nanoparticles does not have unequivocal benefits: the overall activity improves with Pd and Rh but not with Ru, which favours HCO3(-) photo-oxidation even at pH = 7. In general, identification of radical intermediates of oxidation and reduction reactions can provide useful mechanistic information that may be used in the development of photocatalytic systems for the reduction of CO2 also stored in the form of carbonates.

Photocatalytic formation of a carbamate through ethanol-assisted carbonylation of p-nitrotoluene.

The nitroarene p-nitrotoluene is converted with a selectivity higher than 85% to the corresponding carbamate at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, using photoexcited particles of TiO2 as catalyst and EtOH as carbonylating species.