Strongly active and environmentally friendly WO₃/C₃N₄ photocatalysts for converting cyclohexane to cyclohexanone...

C-H bond activation under mild conditions remains a great challenge in the chemical industry, while catalytic cyclohexane oxidation is inefficient and often requires organic solvents and strong oxidants. This study constructed a C₃N₄/WO₃ Z-type heterojunction catalyst to efficiently convert cyclohexane into cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol (KA oil) through aqueous phase oxidation by O₂ under visible light irradiation. With strong redox performance and high photogenerated carrier separation ability, the proposed composite catalyst can produce the key active species for cyclohexane oxidation in the H₂O-O₂ system. The reaction mechanism was clarified through experiment and DFT theory calculation. Cyclohexane was converted into cyclohexyl radical under the action of ·OH, and ·O₂^- converted most products into cyclohexanone. The catalyst can be recycled under optimized process conditions while reaching a KA oil yield of 139.73 μmol g^-1 h^-1 and a selectivity of 93.1%.