An Electrocatalytic Cascade Reaction for the Synthesis of Ketones Using CO as a CO Surrogate.

The construction of carbonyl compounds via carbonylation reactions using safe CO sources remains a long-standing challenge to synthetic chemists. Herein, we propose a catalyst cascade Scheme in which CO is used as a CO surrogate in the carbonylation of benzyl chlorides. Our approach is based on the cooperation between two coexisting catalytic cycles: the CO-to-CO electroreduction cycle promoted by [Fe(TPP)Cl] (TPP=meso-tetraphenylporphyrin) and an electrochemical carbonylation cycle catalyzed by [Ni(bpy)Br] (2,2'-bipyridine).

Impact of the anodization time on the photocatalytic activity of TiO nanotubes.

Titanium oxide nanotubes (TNTs) were anodically grown in ethylene glycol electrolyte. The influence of the anodization time on their physicochemical and photoelectrochemical properties was evaluated. Concomitant with the anodization time, the NT length, fluorine content, and capacitance of the space charge region increased, affecting the opto-electronic properties (bandgap, bathochromic shift, band-edge position) and surface hydrophilicity of TiO NTs.