Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2023, Vol. 49: 16-41.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(23)64430-4

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Research progress on the heterogeneous photocatalytic selective oxidation of benzene to phenol

Mengistu Tulu Gonfaa, Sheng Shena,*(), Lang Chena,*(), Biao Hua, Wei Zhoua, Zhang-Jun Baia, Chak-Tong Aub, Shuang-Feng Yina,*()   

  1. aAdvanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, Hunan, China
    bCollege of Chemical Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China
  • Received:2023-02-23 Accepted:2023-04-10 Online:2023-06-18 Published:2023-06-05
  • Contact: *E-mail: sshen@hnu.edu.cn (S. Shen), huagong042cl@163.com (L. Chen), sf_yin@hnu.edu.cn (S. F. Yin).
  • About author:Sheng Shen received her bachelors’ degree from Wuhan University, China, in 2012. Then she moved to the United States and received her Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Georgia, working on the electrodepostion of semiconductor materials under the supervision of Prof. John L. Stickney. She is currently an associate professor at Hunan University, China, where she focuses on the development of efficient photoelectrodes for solar based energy harvesting and conversion.
    Lang Chen received his bachelors’ degree from Henan University of Science and Technology in 2008 and then obtained his Ph.D. in Hunan University under the supervisor of Prof. Shuang-Feng Yin. He is currently an associate professor in Hunan University. His research interests focus on the design, synthesis, and application of efficient heterogeneous photocatalysts/photo-electro-catalyst.
    Shuang-Feng Yin obtained his bachelors’ degree in 1996 from Beijing University of Chemical Technology. He subsequently received his Ph.D. from Tsinghua University in 2003. He was promoted to full Professor in Hunan University in 2006. He worked as a senior visiting scholar in the Hong Kong Baptist University and Japan Institute of Integrated Industrial Technology from 2008 to 2009. He is Distinguished Young Scholars Recipients of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (2017). His research interests focus on photo/electrocatalytic energy conversion and C‒H bond activation.
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(22008059);National Natural Science Foundation of China(21938002);National Natural Science Foundation of China(21725602);National Natural Science Foundation of China(21975069)

Abstract:

Phenol is important for the manufacture of phenolic chemicals. The current cumene process for phenol production requires harsh conditions and suffers from unwanted side products. Nowadays, the one step conversion of benzene to phenol has received much attention. However, because of the obscurity in benzene C(sp2)-H bond activation and the easy oxidation of phenol, the direct oxidation of benzene to phenol is challenging. As an alternative, the photocatalytic selective oxidation of benzene into phenol under mild conditions is considered promising. In this review, we systematically summarize the recent advance of heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation of benzene, including those of design principles and various modification strategies, mechanistic understanding determined based on in situ characterization and density functional theory calculation, factors affecting kinetics of the reaction, reactor design and photocatalyst deactivation. It is envisaged that photocatalysts made up of single atoms, layered double hydroxides, and metal clusters are good candidates. At the end of this article, the perspective of catalyst design and strategies for the exploration of reaction mechanism are discussed, emphasizing on the use of state-of-the-art techniques. Moreover, the design of photocatalytic reactors for the realization of the photocatalytic process is considered.

Key words: Benzene, Phenol, Direct oxidation, Photocatalyst, Photocatalytic reactor