Ferrocene-based conjugated microporous polymer and its multiwalled carbon nanotube composite for direct photocatalytic benzene hydroxylation to phenol

Ferrocene is used as a catalytically active site and building block to construct a new conjugated microporous polymer (CMP), named Fc-POP. A corresponding carbon nanotube composite (CNTs@Fc-POP) with tubular structure was obtained through the pi-pi interaction between multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and reactive molecules. This innovative modification method of carbon nanotubes provides a way to construct functionalized carbon materials. The two materials can achieve high conversion and selectivity of benzene hydroxylation to phenol under light irradiation using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an oxidant. Due to the synergistic effect between the carbon nanotubes and the ferrocene group, the incorporation of MWCNTs can improve the yield of phenol significantly. This work explores a new photocatalystic system and expands the related photocatalytic application of CNTs.

Automated summary

In this study, a new conjugated microporous polymer (Fc-POP) was constructed using ferrocene as an active site and building block. A carbon nanotube composite (CNTs@Fc-POP) with tubular structure was obtained through innovative modification, showing high efficiency in benzene hydroxylation to phenol under light irradiation. The synergistic effect between carbon nanotubes and ferrocene significantly improves the yield of phenol, expanding the potential applications of CNTs in photocatalysis.