Novel Facile One-Pot Synthesis of Bi2S3−BiOCl Ultrathin Hetero-nanosheets for Selective Alcohol Oxidation

Graphical Environmentally friendly oxidations of aromatic alcohols to aldehydes: ultrathin 2D Bi 2 S 3 −BiOCl heterojunction catalyst with molecule oxygen as oxidant. Novel facile one-pot synthesis of Bi2S3−BiOCl ultrathin hetero-nanosheets for selective alcohol oxidation (Song, Yang and co-workers from Ningbo University Henan Normal University) The development of eco-friendly and low cost catalysts is challenging. Here, heterostructures of Bi 2 S 3 quantum dots (QDs) doped onto ultrathin BiOCl nanosheets were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method to exploit efficient photosensitizers with appropriate electronic states to enhance the transfer of electrons. The obtained Bi 2 S 3 −BiOCl showed highly efficient photocatalytic ability for selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols to aldehydes. More oxygen vacancies are formed on the exposed 001 facet of the ultrathin BiOCl, which can effectively trap electrons and form .O 2 − radicals. The cooperation between the BiOCl and the Bi 2 S 3 QDs effectively separates photogenerated electron-hole pairs at the heterointerface and facilitates the cooperative actions of .O 2 − radicals and holes, which brings about a desirable photocatalytic efficiency for the selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols. This work highlights the synergistic effect of semiconductor QDs and two-dimensional materials on selective conversion processes and provides a new design paradigm using noble metal-free heteromaterials with high photocatalytic activity. This opens new possibilities for photocatalyst design using heteromaterials with high photocatalytic activity.