2024 AIChE Annual Meeting

(569em) Engineering MPC-Assisted Heterojunctional Photo-Oxidation Tailored By Interfacial Design of a P-Modulated C3N4 Heterojunction for Improved Aerobic Alcohol Oxidation

Authors

Al Alwan, B. - Presenter, Wayne State University
Khan, I., chool of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou city, 450001, PR China.
El Jery, A., Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61411, Saudi Arabia
Khan, S., Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Materials Chemistry (Heilongjiang University), Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, International Joint Research Center and Lab for Catalytic Technology, Harbin 150080, PR China.
Shayan, M., Department of Chemistry, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 23200, Pakistan
The creation of two-dimensional van der Waals (VDW) heterostructures is a sophisticated approach to enhancing photocatalytic efficiency. However, challenges in electron transfer at the interfaces often arise in these heterostructures due to the varied structures and energy barriers of the components involved. This study presents a novel method for constructing a VDW heterostructure by inserting a phosphate group between copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and boron-doped, nitrogen-deficient graphitic carbon nitride (BCN), referred to as Cu/PO4-BCN. This phosphate group serves as a charge mediator, enabling effective charge transfer within the heterostructure, thus facilitating electron flow from BCN to CuPc upon activation. As a result, the photogenerated electrons are effectively utilized by the catalytic Cu2+ core in CuPc, achieving a conversion efficiency of 96% for benzyl alcohol (BA) and a selectivity of 98.8% for benzyl aldehyde (BAD) in the presence of oxygen as the sole oxidant and under illumination. Notably, the production rate of BAD is almost 8 times higher than that observed with BCN alone and remains stable over five cycles. The introduction of interfacial mediators to enhance electron transfer represents a pioneering and efficient strategy in the design of photocatalysts, enabling the proficient transformation of BA into valuable derivatives.