Ring hydrogenation of aromatic compounds in aqueous suspensions of an Rh-loaded TiO2 photocatalyst without use of H2 gas

There are various possibilities of co-catalyst-assisted photocatalytic reduction (CPR) over a titanium(IV) oxide (TiO2) photocatalyst, especially H2-free and chemoselective CPR. We examined the photoinduced ring hydrogenation of aromatics having a carboxyl group over metal-loaded TiO2 under H2-free conditions and found that the aromatics were almost quantitatively hydrogenated to the corresponding cyclohexanes having a carboxyl group when rhodium, water and oxalic acid were used as a metal co-catalyst, solvent and hole scavenger, respectively. The effects of different metal co-catalysts, solvents and hole scavengers on the ring hydrogenation were also examined. Based on the results obtained under various conditions, the light dependency and adsorption behavior of the aromatics and hole scavengers, the functions of TiO2 and the co-catalyst, and the reaction process are discussed.