Thiolate-mediated photoreduction and aerobic oxidation cycles in a bismuth–bismuth oxide nanosystem towards thiol-to-disulfide photocatalytic transformation

Bismuth(III) alkanethiolates [Bi(SR)₃] formed by reacting Bi₂O₃ with alkanethiols (RSH) undergo a UV-blue light driven ligand-to-metal charge transfer photoreduction to disulfides and Bi colloids, which are then oxidised to Bi₂O₃ by dissolved oxygen and reconverted to Bi(SR)₃ by RSH to prepare for the next Bi-Bi₂O₃ photoredox cycle, forming a basis for Bi(III)-catalysed thiol-to-disulfide conversion.