Visible-Light Photocatalytic Highly Selective Oxidation of Alcohols into Carbonyl Compounds by CsPbBr3 Perovskite

Conversion of alcohols into corresponding carbonyl compounds through an oxidation reaction with high conversion and selectivity simultaneously under mild conditions still remains a great challenge. Herein, a cost-effective and highly efficient photocatalytic protocol for selective oxidation of alcohols was developed using CsPbBr₃ perovskite as a heterogeneous photocatalyst, which afforded aldehydes/ketones exclusively with a yield of 99% at ambient temperature under an air atmosphere. Moreover, the photocatalyst can be recycled at least 5 times without a significant decrease in catalytic activity. The detailed reaction mechanism was investigated by a series of quenching experiments, including Stern-Volmer experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis as well as DFT calculations.