Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride (CN) enriched with ZnO or Fe₂O₃ were synthesized using a simple one-pot mechanochemical method. By using this method, composite samples were synthetized without the production of any potentially hazardous waste. Synthesized materials were used as catalysts during selective photo-oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Both composite materials displayed an enhancement of activity and benzaldehyde selectivity with respect to the pure CN. The most active catalyst was Fe₂O₃/​g‑C₃N₄ (Fe/​CN). Conversion and benzaldehyde selectivity of this sample were 20 and 70 %, respectively. It showed a considerable increase of benzaldehyde selectivity compared to the pure CN and TiO₂ P25 commercial reference. A complete structural and electronic characterization using Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive (SEM-EDX), BET measurements, X‑ray diffraction (XRD), X‑ray Photoelectron (XPS), and UV – visible spectroscopies was carried out. The characterization analysis pointed out the leading role of the crystallinity and surface concentration over the activity and benzaldehyde selectivity of the reaction.