One-Pot, Clean Synthesis of Vanillic Acid from Ferulic Acid
Ferulic acid dissolved in water is selectively oxidized to vanillic acid in high yield (≈60 %) under remarkably mild and green conditions, namely at room temperature with air as primary oxidant, over a catalytic amount of nanostructured Bi2WO6. The process is general and opens the route to the selective oxidation of natural substances into derivatives of significant applicative relevance.
Sol-gel entrapped visible light photocatalysts for selective conversions
A general method to heterogenize, stabilize and significantly enhance the activity of selective visible light photocatalysts for aerobic oxidation of glycerol is devised. The new method makes use of the sol-gel encapsulation of photocatalytic species in silica-based matrices to afford leach-proof catalysts capable to afford valued products at low cost with little or no waste generation. In particular, the photocatalytic selective conversion of glycerol is performed in water solvent under ambient conditions with molecular oxygen as oxidant and visible light as the driving energy source, thereby meeting all requirements for a green chemical process. Entrapment of the semiconductor-based photo…