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Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Cyclic Compound Synthesis or Functionalization, a Promising...
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Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Cyclic Compound Synthesis or Functionalization, a Promising Approach for Discovery Chemistry

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Photocatalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2025) | Viewed by 3324

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yixiong Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, 315 S. 1400 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Interests: photoredox chemistry; green chemistry; heterogeneous photocatalysis; homogeneous photocatalysis; medicinal chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photocatalysis has emerged as an increasingly important methodology in the modern synthetic toolbox, providing access to open-shell radical pathways that are complementary to classical reactivity. Its mild reaction conditions grant high selectivity and broad functional group tolerance. Beyond the well-studied homogeneous photocatalysts, heterogeneous photocatalysts can operate similarly but offer additional advantages such as low cost, high photostability, and high catalyst turnover. Combining these factors, highly efficient heterogeneous photocatalysis may be particularly attractive to the pharmaceutical industry from an economic perspective.

Considering the fact that cyclic scaffolds are privileged scaffolds in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery, this Special Issue aims to collect high-quality original research, reviews, and perspectives with an emphasis on heterogeneous photocatalysis for cyclic compound synthesis or functionalization. The heterogeneous photocatalysts applied in this research may include, but are not limited to, highly recyclable and affordable semiconductive visible-light absorbing materials such as titanium oxide, cadmium chalcogenide, or perovskite nanocrystals, metal-organic frameworks, conjugated organic polymers, and carbon nitride. Within this topic, research papers that involve bioactivity testing of synthesized compounds, computational-guided bioactive compound design, and cooperative catalysis are highly encouraged.

Dr. Yixiong Lin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • heterogeneous photocatalysis
  • photocatalytic cyclization
  • cycloaddition
  • green chemistry
  • photoredox chemistry
  • semiconductor-based photocatalysts
  • ring compound functionalization
  • drug discovery
  • nanomaterial photocatalysis

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1421 KB  
Article
Construction of BiOCl/MIL-121 Composites for Efficient Photodegradation of Organic Pollutants Under Visible Light Irradiation
by Tao Xu, Jinmin Chen, Yang Ma, Yuwei Pan, Hui Huang and Guangyu Wu
Catalysts 2025, 15(10), 995; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15100995 - 19 Oct 2025
Viewed by 334
Abstract
The increasing discharge of organic pollutants such as dyes and antibiotics poses severe threats to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Conventional wastewater treatment methods are often limited by high energy consumption, secondary pollution, or low efficiency under visible light. It is crucial to [...] Read more.
The increasing discharge of organic pollutants such as dyes and antibiotics poses severe threats to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Conventional wastewater treatment methods are often limited by high energy consumption, secondary pollution, or low efficiency under visible light. It is crucial to design novel photocatalysts that can simultaneously utilize visible photons and enable swift transport of photoinduced charge carriers to drive contaminant decomposition. Herein, novel BiOCl/MIL-121 composites were synthesized via a straightforward hydrothermal route. A suite of complementary microscopic and spectroscopic analyses, including SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS, were employed to elucidate the material’s composition. Furthermore, collective evidence from spectroscopic and electrochemical analyses confirms markedly improved light absorption and charge separation efficiency within the BiOCl/MIL-121 photocatalyst. The 5% BiOCl/MIL-121 composite achieved 93.7% removal of Rhodamine B in 60 min, exhibiting a high photocatalytic degradation rate. Similarly, 5% BiOCl/MIL-121 photodegraded 80.4% of tetracyclin, which was much better than that of BiOCl. A plausible interfacial charge-transfer mechanism was deduced from the band structure of the 5% BiOCl/MIL-121 composite and experimental evidence from radical scavenger studies. This study provides an effective strategy for constructing a composite photocatalyst and offers a green way for the efficient degradation of organic pollutants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Cyclic Compound Synthesis or Functionalization, a Promising Approach for Discovery Chemistry)
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15 pages, 2599 KB  
Article
Facile Synthesis of Ni3S2/ZnIn2S4 Photocatalysts for Benzyl Alcohol Splitting: A Pathway to Sustainable Hydrogen and Benzaldehyde
by Haibo Wang, Chen Zhou and Shengyang Yang
Catalysts 2025, 15(9), 830; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15090830 - 1 Sep 2025
Viewed by 735
Abstract
The escalating concerns about global warming and energy shortages have presented an urgent need for efficient and environmentally sustainable hydrogen production methods. This work presents an efficient Ni3S2/ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) composite photocatalyst synthesized via a hydrothermal process, [...] Read more.
The escalating concerns about global warming and energy shortages have presented an urgent need for efficient and environmentally sustainable hydrogen production methods. This work presents an efficient Ni3S2/ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) composite photocatalyst synthesized via a hydrothermal process, demonstrating enhanced performance for hydrogen evolution and benzyl alcohol oxidation under visible-light irradiation. Specifically, the optimized 3.2% Ni3S2/ZIS composite achieves hydrogen and benzaldehyde production rates of 4.342 mmol g–1 h–1 and 4.213 mmol g–1 h–1, respectively, 1.79 and 1.76 times greater than those of pristine ZIS. The system exhibits excellent selectivity, producing benzaldehyde as the sole by-product, and maintains stability over multiple reaction cycles. Mechanistic studies reveal that Ni3S2 facilitates charge separation and accelerates reaction dynamics by providing conductive channels and enhancing catalytic activity at the ZIS interface. These findings highlight the potential of Ni3S2/ZIS composites as cost-effective, scalable, and noble-metal-free photocatalysts for hydrogen production and green chemical synthesis, offering a promising pathway toward energy sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Cyclic Compound Synthesis or Functionalization, a Promising Approach for Discovery Chemistry)
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19 pages, 3222 KB  
Article
Polyol Formation of Silver@Metal Oxides Nanohybrid for Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Performance
by Jovairya Azam, Zahoor Ahmad, Ali Irfan, Asima Naz, Muhammad Arshad, Rabia Sattar, Mohammad Raish, Bakar Bin Khatab Abbasi and Yousef A. Bin Jardan
Catalysts 2025, 15(3), 283; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15030283 - 17 Mar 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1465
Abstract
The polyol method under a single pot has successfully produced a coating of CuO, TiO2, and the combination of CuO/TiO2 around Ag NWs under sequential addition. The Ag NWs and their coating with a pure metal oxide and a hybrid [...] Read more.
The polyol method under a single pot has successfully produced a coating of CuO, TiO2, and the combination of CuO/TiO2 around Ag NWs under sequential addition. The Ag NWs and their coating with a pure metal oxide and a hybrid of metal oxide were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with EDX, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Visible, photoluminescent (PL) spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The formation of ultra-thin NWs was also been seen in the presence of the TiO2 coating. The ultra-thin and co-axial coating of each metal oxide and their hybrid form preserved the SPR of the Ag NWs and demonstrated photon harvesting from the 400–800 nm range. The band gap hybridization was confirmed by CV for the Ag@CuO/TiO2 design, which made the structure a reliable catalyst. Therefore, the material expresses excellent photocatalytic activities for carcinogenic textile dyes such as turquoise blue (TB), sapphire blue (SB), and methyl orange (MO), with and without the reagent H2O2. The hybrid form (i.e., Ag@CuO/TiO2) exhibited degradation within 6 min in the presence of H2O2. Additionally, the material showed antibacterial activities against various bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus pumilus) when assayed using broth media. Therefore, the materials have established degrading and disinfection roles suitable for environmental perspectives. The role of coating with each metal oxide and their hybrid texture further improved the growth of Ag NWs. The preparatory route possibly ensued metal–metal oxide and metal–hybrid metal oxide Schottky junctions, which would expectedly transform it into a diode material for electronic applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heterogeneous Photocatalysis for Cyclic Compound Synthesis or Functionalization, a Promising Approach for Discovery Chemistry)
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