Efficient utilization of photogenerated electrons and holes for photocatalytic selective organic syntheses in one reaction system using a narrow band gap CdS photocatalyst

In this study, a nanoparticle structure of CdS with cubic phase (CdS-G) was prepared by a facile solid-state reaction at room temperature for the first time. CdS-G can be used as a highly active photocatalyst for selective oxidation of p-methoxybenzyl alcohol (pMBA) to p-methoxybenzaldehyde (pMBAD) and reduction of nitrobenzene (NB) to aniline (AL) in a coupled reaction system under green mild reaction conditions through visible light irradiation. Compared with the counterparts prepared by the conventional precipitation method (CdS-P) and hydrothermal method (CdS-H), the photocatalytic performance of CdS-G is greatly improved owing to the unique features of the nanostructure, the high surface area, pore volume, visible light absorption and photoelectric properties. The yield of pMBAD (AL) over CdS-G is about 1.6 (5.2) and 1.9 (20.8) times higher than that over CdS-P and CdS-H, respectively. The CdS-G sample exhibits excellent selectivity and stability because its valence band (VB) and conduction band (CB) positions matched well with the redox potentials of pMBA/pMBAD and NB/AL. Furthermore, the photogenerated holes and electrons can be efficiently and directly reacted with pMBA and NB, respectively. The photocatalytic selective oxidation and reduction reaction is a synergistic reaction via producing and consuming protons. The photogenerated holes and electrons could be utilized thoroughly to produce pMBAD and AL, respectively. The molar ratio of pMBA and NB was 3 : 1, and the yield of pMBAD and AL could be successfully achieved at a theoretical ratio of 1 : 1. This work highlights the promising scope for selective organic synthesis in one reaction system under mild conditions using photogenerated electrons and holes directly and simultaneously.