Harvesting visible light for aerobic oxidation of alcohols by a novel and efficient hybrid polyoxometalate

Herein, the synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic application of a novel hybrid polyoxometalate, which can absorb light in the visible region, are reported. This hybrid material was synthesized by attaching a monovacant polyoxometalate, (SiW11O39), through a (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane linker to the anthracene. The hybridization with anthracene drastically decreased the band gap of the polyoxometalate and made it a good candidate for utilization in photocatalytic applications under visible light. In this aspect, this photocatalyst was used for the oxidation of alcohols into the corresponding carbonyl compounds under an O2 atmosphere. Different benzylic and aliphatic alcohols were treated in the presence of this photocatalyst under the optimum reaction conditions and provided the corresponding carbonyl compounds in high yields.