Facile fabrication of ternary NiTiFe-LDH ultrathin nanosheets for efficient conversion of amines into imines under visible light

Abstract

Ternary NiTiFe-LDH with an ultrathin nanosheet morphology was successfully fabricated via a facile co-precipitation method, followed by refluxing, and was used as a catalyst for oxidative coupling of amines to produce imines under visible light. The obvious superior activity observed in NiTiFe-LDH ultrathin nanosheets compared with binary NiTi-LDH and bulk NiTiFe-LDH can be ascribed to an enhanced light absorption capability caused by the introduction of Fe³⁺ ions as well as the ultrathin nanosheets which can minimize the recombination of the photogenerated charge carriers and provide more catalytically active sites for the reaction. As a result, more catalytically active O₂˙⁻ radicals are generated over NiTiFe-LDH ultrathin nanosheets, which leads to their superior activity. This study not only shows the possibility of using LDHs in photocatalytic organic transformations but also demonstrates an effective strategy to promote the activity of LDH-based photocatalysts via simultaneous composition and morphology modulation of LDHs.