Anurag Kumar

A Prussian blue/carbon dot nanocomposite as an efficient visible light active photocatalyst for C–H activation of amines

A Prussian blue/carbon dot (PB/CD) nanocomposite was synthesised and used as a visible-light active photocatalyst for the oxidative cyanation of tertiary amines to α-aminonitriles by using NaCN/acetic acid as a cyanide source and H2O2 as an oxidant. The developed photocatalyst afforded high yields of products after 8 h of visible light irradiation at room temperature. The catalyst was recycled and reused several times without any significant loss in its activity.

Photochemical Oxidative Coupling of 2-Naphthols using a Hybrid Reduced Graphene Oxide/Manganese Dioxide Nanocomposite under Visible-Light Irradiation

We describe a simple, cost‐effective, efficient, and high‐yielding photocatalytic approach for the oxidative self‐dimerization of 2‐naphthols using a semiconductor–metal hybrid that consists of intercalated manganese dioxide nanoparticles in reduced graphene oxide (rGO/MnO2) under visible‐light irradiation. The desired photocatalyst was synthesized in a single step by mixing MnO2 nanoparticles with rGO ultrasonically. The hybrid photocatalyst exhibited a significantly higher activity than neat MnO2 nanoparticles and rGO, which is believed to be because of the synergistic effect of its components. To our knowledge, this hybrid rGO/MnO2 nanocomposite is the first heterogeneous, green photocatalyst for the oxidative coupling of 2‐naphthols under mild conditions.