We describe a catalytic system composed of rhodium nanoparticles immobilized in a Lewis acidic ionic liquid. The combined system catalyzes the hydrogenation of quinolines, pyridines, benzofurans, and furan to access the corresponding heterocycles, important molecules present in fine chemicals, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The catalyst is highly selective, acting only on the heteroaromatic ring, and not interfering with other reducible functional groups.
The
development of smart and sustainable photocatalysts is in high
priority for the synthesis of H2O2 because the
global demand for H2O2 is sharply rising. Currently,
the global market share for H2O2 is around 4
billion US$ and is expected to grow by about 5.2 billion US$ by 2026.
Traditional synthesis of H2O2 via the anthraquinone
method is associated with the generation of substantial chemical waste
as well as the requirement of a high energy input. In this respect,
the oxidative transformation of pure water is a sustainable solution
to meet the global demand. In fact, several photocatalysts have been
developed to achieve this chemistry. However, 97% of the water on
our planet is seawater, and it contains 3.0–5.0% of salts.
The presence of salts in water deactivates the existing photocatalysts,
and therefore, the existing photocatalysts have rarely shown reactivity
toward seawater. Considering this, a sustainable heterogeneous photocatalyst,
derived from hydrolysis lignin, has been developed, showing an excellent
reactivity toward generating H2O2 directly from
seawater under air. In fact, in the presence of this catalyst, we
have been able to achieve 4085 μM of H2O2. Expediently, the catalyst has shown longer durability and can be
recycled more than five times to generate H2O2 from seawater. Finally, full characterizations of this smart photocatalyst
and a detailed mechanism have been proposed on the basis of the experimental
evidence and multiscale/level calculations.
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