Nanoparticles TiO2-photocatalyzed oxidation of selected cyclohexyl alcohols

The present article embraces the photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of three selected cyclohexyl alcohols namely cyclohexylmethanol (1), 2-cyclohexylethanol (2) and 1-cyclohexylethanol (3) using nanoparticles titanium dioxide (TiO2-P25) as a semiconductor photocatalyst in acetonitrile under aerated conditions. The photocatalytic experiments showed moderate conversion ratios (55.2%, 51.8% and 60.3%, respectively). The primary photocatalytic oxidation products are the corresponding aldehydes or ketones and acids. The photocatalytic oxidation products were identified mainly by GC and GC/MS techniques using authentic samples. Formation of electron–hole pair at the surface of the semiconductor nanoparticles followed by oxidation reaction was the suggested mechanism. A first-order kinetic model was observed for the photocatalytic oxidation of the investigated alcohols and the rate constants were calculated.