The Effect of g‐C3N4 in Its Composite With Cu‐Cu2O on the Catalysis of Aerobic Oxidation of Benzylic Alcohols

ABSTRACT In this work, the preparation and characterization of a composite of Cu‐Cu 2 O with g‐C 3 N 4 and its application in the catalysis of aerobic oxidation of benzylic alcohols are reported. The composites Cu‐Cu 2 O/g‐C 3 N 4 were prepared starting with CuSO 4 under reduction conditions with ball milling, followed by thermal treatment. The introduction of g‐C 3 N 4 into the composite can enhance the catalytic oxidation. Band structure analysis based on UPS data reveals that the enhancement can be attributed to the small work function of g‐C 3 N 4 , which raises the VBM level of the chief catalyst Cu 2 O through injecting electrons into the oxide at the heterojunction due to Fermi energy alignment. Both VBM ascending and forming an internal electric field (IEF) due to the electron transfer across the interface contribute to the enhancement in the catalysis. Further, the N‐rich matrix g‐C 3 N 4 promotes proton transfer in the catalysis due to its basicity, which also accelerates the catalysis.