Applications of Antimony in Catalysis

Antimony is a fifth-period element in the nitrogen family, a silver-white metalloid with weak conductivity and thermal conductivity. It is stable at room temperature and does not react easily with oxygen and water in the air. Natural minerals are found in the form of sulfides. Current research and applications are mostly concentrated on material modification, utilizing the properties of antimony in traditional chemical industries, helping alloys improve their flame retardancy, stability, increasing semiconductor performance, etc. For example, to enhance the electronic conductivity, after coating or embedding antimony or its derivatives in thin layers in photonic nanomaterials, the performance of the original material in photoelectrochemical catalysis can be effectively increased, thereby expanding the efficiency of oxidation-reduction reactions accounting for the degradation of organic matter in wastewater. However, the catalytic reaction between the derivatives of antimony and organic compounds beside the material is less studied, and the mechanism of the studies in organic synthesis is relatively unclear. The reported organic synthesis related to antimony is mainly in the form of Lewis acid catalysts or dual-metal catalytic systems combined with other metals. This Review will focus on the application of antimony in photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and other organic syntheses in the past 10 years.