Selective oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes/ketones has been achieved with the help of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)-capped CdSe quantum dot (MPA-CdSe QD) and visible light. Visible-light-prompted electron-transfer reaction initiates the oxidation. The thiyl radical generated from the thiolate anion adsorbed on a CdSe QD plays a key role by abstracting the hydrogen atom from the C-H bond of the alcohol (R CH(OH)R ). The reaction shows high efficiency, good functional group tolerance, and high site-selectivity in polyhydroxy compounds. The generality and selectivity reported here offer a new opportunity for further applications of QDs in organic transformations.

The structural parameters of nine coal samples from a contact metamorphic zone were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The FTIR spectra parameters composed of CH 2 /CH 3 , f a , H al /H ar , and (R/C) u indicate distinguishing features, including increase of aromaticity and the loss of aliphatic and oxygencontaining groups with thermally metamorphic evolution of coal. The XRD analysis shows that magmatic intrusion potentially caused rapid changes of structures in coal. With the decrease of distances from the intrusion rocks, the average lateral sizes (L a ), stacking heights (L c ), and interlayer spacing (d 002 ) of the crystallite structures of coal range from 22.90 to 37.70 Å, 12.90 to 23.30 Å, and 3.80 to 3.50 Å, respectively. Exponential correlations are observed between structural parameters (f a , d 002 , L a , L c , H al /H, (R/C) u , and A ar /A al ) and C/H of the coal, suggesting that the structures of coal are controlled by the degree of contact metamorphism.