Studies towards green oxidation of alcohols with visible light

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Kimya Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2014

Öğrenci: KIVANÇ AKKAŞ

Danışman: AKIN AKDAĞ

Özet:

Conversion of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds is one of the key reactions in organic chemistry. For this, numerous methods have been developed. However, most of these methods produce environmentally hazardous waste. With this in mind, an environmentally benign method was attempted to be developed. The idea was borrowed from Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC); electron relay mechanism in DSSC to be replaced with oxidation of alcohols. First, TiO2 as metal oxide and O2 as electron acceptor were used. The benzyl alcohol was added to the dye and TEMPO included TiO2/O2 system to yield benzaldehyde, but the method failed in our hands. However, when ZnO as metal oxide and Ag+ as electron acceptor were used, the reaction converted alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes. Our contribution in this thesis is reducing the diffusion control to increase the rate of reaction. To this end, TEMPO incorporated dyes were developed and synthesized.