Revealing the Intrinsic Nature of the Synergistic Effect Caused by the Formation of Heterojunctions in Cu–Cu<sub>2</sub>O/rGO-NH<sub>2</sub> Nanomaterials in the Catalysis of Selective Aerobic Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol
Jiamei Ma, Zhiyin Xiao, Samuthirarajan Senthilkumar, Wei Zhong, Zhongquan Shen, Chunxin Lü, Xiu‐Juan Jiang, Xiaoming Liu
Abstract
Ternary nanomaterials Cu–Cu2O/rGO-NH2 (rGO = reduced graphene oxide) exhibited a synergistic effect in the quantitative catalysis of selective aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol. The synergistic effect is attributed to the heterojunctions among the three components and in intrinsic nature, the formation of the heterojunctions lowered the conduction band (CB) energy level and raised the valence band (VB) energy level of the main catalyst Cu2O, which eases electron transfer from the catalyst to O2 in its activation and from the substrate to the catalyst in the oxidation, respectively.
Topics & Concepts
ChemistryCatalysisHeterojunctionGrapheneOxideNanomaterialsTernary operationSubstrate (aquarium)Valence (chemistry)Conduction bandInorganic chemistrySynergistic catalysisChemical engineeringNanotechnologyElectronOrganic chemistryOptoelectronicsEngineeringGeologyPhysicsMaterials scienceOceanographyComputer scienceProgramming languageQuantum mechanicsCatalytic Processes in Materials ScienceAdvanced Nanomaterials in CatalysisOxidative Organic Chemistry Reactions