ZnNb2O6 fibre surface as an efficiently product-selective controller for the near-UV-light-induced nitrobenzene reduction reaction

Abstract

A high aniline yield was achieved by the combination of near-UV light as the driving force of nitrobenzene reduction and a ZnNb₂O₆ surface as the product-selective controller. Here, a ZnNb₂O₆ fibre, having a wide band gap and both acidic and basic sites, was exploited by a novel ion-exchange method to study the effect of the surface acidity and basicity of catalysts on the product selectivity under near-UV light irradiation without the interference of photo-generated carriers. ZnNb₂O₆ showed the highest aniline yield compared to Nb₂O₅ and ZnO. The results of experimental and theoretical calculations confirmed that the acidic sites on the surface of ZnNb₂O₆ promoted the breakage of the N–O bond in the intermediate phenylhydroxylamine while the basic sites were attached to the dissociated hydrogen of isopropyl alcohol, resulting in high aniline selectivity.