Synthesis of Ternary Photoactive Heterojunction B/CN@rGO for Visible Light Driven Selective Photooxidation of Benzyl Alcohol

This work introduces a novel ternary heterostructure as a photocatalyst to selectively produce benzaldehyde from benzyl alcohol through photooxidation. We have synthesized bismuth vanadate functionalized graphitic carbon nitride decorated reduced graphene oxide B/CN@rGO ternary composite and subsequently subjected it to several characterization methodologies like XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, XPS, FT-IR, TGA, UV-vis DRS, and EIS. The synthesized B/CN@rGO was effectively used in the photooxidation process to produce benzaldehyde from benzyl alcohol, employing a cost-effective white LED light of 200 W. Remarkable selectivity (100 %) towards the benzaldehyde was attained employing green oxidant H₂O₂. In addition, the synthesized photocatalyst showed unique thermal stability and could be reused for over five cycles without compromising the selectivity of the resulting product. Based on our comprehensive review of the existing study, the present work introduces a unique approach for the photooxidation of benzyl alcohol, employing B/CN@rGO ternary heterostructure as the photocatalyst.