%0 Journal Article
%A Xiong, Lunqiao
%A Yu, Zhounan
%A Cao, Hongchen
%A Guan, Weixiang
%A Su, Yang
%A Pan, Xiaoli
%A Zhang, Leilei
%A Liu, Xiaoyan
%A Wang, Aiqin
%A Tang, Junwang
%D 2024
%F discovery:10187530
%I Wiley
%J Angewandte Chemie International Edition
%T Converting Glycerol into Valuable Trioses by Cu^{δ+}-Single-Atom-Decorated WO_{3} under Visible Light
%U https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10187530/
%X Photocatalytic selective oxidation under visible light presents a promising approach for the sustainable transformation of biomass-derived wastes. However, achieving both high conversion and excellent selectivity poses a significant challenge. In this study, two valuable trioses, glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone, are produced from glycerol over Cuδ+ -decorated WO3 photocatalyst in the presence of H2 O2 . The photocatalyst exhibits a remarkable five-fold increase in the conversion rate (3.81 mmol ⋅ g-1  ⋅ h-1 ) while maintaining a high selectivity towards two trioses (46.4 % to glyceraldehyde and 32.9 % to dihydroxyacetone). Through a comprehensive analysis involving X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements with and without light irradiation, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and isotopic analysis, the critical role of Cu+ species has been explored as efficient hole acceptors. These species facilitate charge transfer, promoting glycerol oxidation by photoholes, followed by coupling with OH- , which are subsequently dehydrated to yield the desired glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone.
%Z © 2024 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).