Cu2O/TiO2 as a sustainable and recyclable photocatalyst for gram-scale synthesis of phenols in water

Abstract A green and straightforward protocol was developed for the synthesis of phenols from aryl boronic acid using an inexpensive and available Cu2O/TiO2 photocatalyst under visible light and sunlight. This approach proceeded in mild reaction conditions in water and the presence of air as a green oxidant, resulting in the corresponding phenols in good to excellent yields. Sunlight was also a sustainable source for this photochemical reaction. Heterogeneous nano photocatalyst was successfully recovered in 8 consecutive runs. It is noteworthy that, the photocatalyst exhibited high activity for the large-scale synthesis of phenols.