Work

Photocatalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of Thiols to Disulfides Using Cu 2 O Polyhedra

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide To further demonstrate semiconductor facet effect to photocatalytic organic transformations and address a lack of using simple polyhedral semiconductor particles for disulfide bond formation, Cu 2 O cubes, octahedra, and rhombic dodecahedra were used to photocatalyze aerobic oxidation of 4-methylbenzenethiol. After reaction condition optimization, Cu 2 O crystals and N, N, N ′, N ′-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) were added to 4-methylbenzenethiol in ethanol for thiol oxidation to 1,2-di- p -tolyldisulfane under 390 nm light-emitting diode (LED) lamp irradiation for just 5 min. Rhombic dodecahedra gave the highest product yield, followed by octahedra, cubes, and commercial Cu 2 O powder. Cu 2 O rhombic dodecahedra were subsequently employed to photocatalyze thiols bearing a diverse scope of substituents with satisfactory yields. Reactive species trapping experiments were performed to support a plausible reaction mechanism. Semiconductor crystals with surface control can be a simple but highly effective strategy for enhancing photocatalytic organic transformations.

Source: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c21206

Authors: Wan-Ting Dai, Chun-Chia Wen, Hsi-Jui Lin, Michael H. Huang

Institution: National Tsing Hua University

Language: English

Topic: Copper-based nanomaterials and applications

Subfield: Materials Chemistry

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,500

Funder: Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan