AUTHOR=Liang Ce , Zhang Yuanyuan , Zhang Bin , Liu Xin-Miao , Gao Guo-Lin , Cao Jingyan , Xu Ping 

TITLE=Plasmonic Heating-Promoted Photothermal Synthesis of α-Cyanoacrylonitriles Over Au/h-BN Catalysts

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2021.732162

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2021.732162

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>Plasmonic nanoparticle-involved materials play an essential role in the field of photothermal conversion. Herein, we report the application of photothermal heterogeneous catalysts consisting of gold nanoparticles decorated on defect-rich h-BN sheets (Au/h-BN) for the photocatalytic synthesis of α-cyanoacrylonitriles under mild conditions. It has been demonstrated the–NH<sub>2</sub> groups present in the defect-rich h-BN act as the catalytically active sites, while plasmonic heating from the gold nanoparticles can drive the reaction by providing local heat. Au/h-BN catalyst can work for a broad substrate scope in the synthesis of α-cyanoacrylonitriles, and a plausible –NH<sub>2</sub> group-involved reaction mechanism has been proposed. This work may open up new avenues in photothermal catalysis by combining plasmonic materials and catalytic sites in one system.</p>