One-Step Selective Aerobic Oxidation of Amines to Imines by Gold Nanoparticle-Loaded Rutile Titanium(IV) Oxide Plasmon Photocatalyst

Among various metal oxide-supported Au nanoparticles, Au/rutile TiO2 exhibits a particularly high level of visible-light activity for aerobic oxidation of amines to yield the corresponding imines on a synthetic scale with high selectivity (>99%) at 298 K. Experimental results have suggested that the reaction proceeds via the localized surface plasmon resonance-excited electron transfer from the Au nanoparticle to the TiO2.