Photo-assisted electrochemical strategy for efficient oxidation of polyols

Biomass-derived molecules can be used as "platform chemicals" for the synthesis of numerous value-added chemicals. In this issue of Chem Catalysis, Wang and Li et al. demonstrate the power of photoelectrochemical strategy to drive the challenging glycerol oxidation toward the production of dihydroxyacetone with both high selectivity and efficiency. By using the Au/C3N4 catalyst, the highest turn-over frequency (TOF) value among all reported to date is obtained.