DAI Yitao from Suzhou Institute for Advanced Research, University of Science and Technology of China (SIAR), and Prof. XIONG Yujie from USTC recently published a review paper titled Control of selectivity in organic synthesis via heterogeneous photocatalysis under visible light in Nano Research Energy. This high-standard domestic journal, founded in March 2022, is sponsored by Tsinghua University, and co-edited by Prof. QU Liangti from Tsinghua University and Prof. ZHI Chunyi from City University of Hong Kong. DAI is the first author and corresponding author, and SIAR is the first corresponding author's institution.

Heterogeneous photocatalysis can make use of clean solar energy to produce the desired valuable compounds with high selectivity. This review paper focuses on this promising topic and presents a comprehensive analysis of several efficient photocatalytic systems with the excellent regulation ability of product selectivity in organic transformations. The paper analyzes the key aspects of photocatalysts materials (e.g., light absorption, separation/migration of photogenerated carriers, and surface catalytic reactions) from the view of their electronic structure, geometric structure and surface chemical micro-environment. It also reveals their working mechanisms on the selectivity control of target organic products, providing ideas for further research on improving photocatalytic performances. At the same time, the paper illustrates the possible paths of the solar-to-chemical energy conversion based on in-situ and transient spectroscopic characterizations. It also offers future perspectives in the field of heterogeneous photocatalytic organic conversion, involving how to precisely establish efficient heterogeneous photocatalytic systems, realize industrial organic reactions requiring huge energy consumption (reaction temperature of ≥350 °C, e.g. propane dehydrogenation to propylene), and explore new organic synthesis methods driven by solar energy.

Figure 1. The key factors manipulating selectivity in organic synthesis driven by heterogeneous photocatalysts under visible light

Paper link: https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NRE.2022.9120006?issn=2791-0091