Synthesis of Titania nanowires doped with Cd on the based Polycalix[4]resorcinarene for photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohols under LED irradiation.

Semiconductor photocatalysis as an alternative technology has received extensive attention for addressing worldwide energy and environmental issues. However, it is still a great challenge and imperative to profoundly understand the migration mechanisms for achieving the complete utilization of photoexcited charge carriers. Photocatalytic selective oxidation of alcohols into corresponding aldehydes has received enormous attention. In this paper, The structure of the TiO2NWs-Cd/Polycalix[4]resorcinarene nanocomposites was analyzed by thermal sonicate and solvothermal methods and then thoroughly characterized by a range of XRD, FT-IR, SEM, PL, and DRS techniques. The photoactivity of the compounds against the oxidation of four substituted benzyl alcohols was surveyed. The resultant nanocomposite (TiO2NWs-Cd(48%)/Polycalix[4]resorcinarene) demonstrates greater photocatalytic efficiency than both its pure TiO2 and cadmium-doped TiO2 for the oxidation of benzyl alcohols under the illumination of LED light (λ ≥ 400 nm). The introduction of the TiO2NWs-Cd on the surface of Polycalix[4]resorcinarene can improve the absorption ability in the visible region and the separation efficiency of charge carriers during photocatalytic oxidation. Hence, these obtained results show that the TiO2NWs-Cd (48wt%)/Polycalix[4]resorcinarene nanocomposite possesses high photocatalytic performance and excellent reusability in oxidation reactions and LED-light-driven organic oxidations carried out under mild conditions offering a sustainable approach to performing chemical transformations important to the chemical industry.