Visible-Light-Mediated Oxidative Amidation of Aldehydes by Using Magnetic CdS Quantum Dots as a Photocatalyst

A magnetic CdS quantum dot (Fe3O4/polydopamine (PDA)/CdS) was synthesized through a facile and convenient method from inexpensive starting materials. Characterization of the prepared catalyst was performed by means of FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, TEM, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and vibrating-sample magnetometer techniques. Fe3O4/PDA/CdS was found to be a highly active photocatalyst for the amidation of aromatic aldehydes by using air as a clean oxidant under mild conditions. The photocatalyst can be recovered by magnetic separation and successfully reused for five cycles without considerable loss of its catalytic activity.

Automated summary

A magnetic CdS quantum dot photocatalyst (Fe3O4/PDA/CdS) was synthesized from inexpensive starting materials using a convenient method. The catalyst showed high activity in amidation reactions of aromatic aldehydes under mild conditions using air as a clean oxidant. The catalyst could be easily recovered by magnetic separation and reused for multiple cycles without significant loss of catalytic activity.