The superiority of silver-doped titania for photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of organic compounds inspired us to
investigate PCO of 1,2-cyclohexanediol. Ag/TiO2 was prepared, characterized (nanosize 19–24 nm) and used for
oxidation of 1,2-cyclohexanediol (1) in acetonitrile. The photolysate was analyzed using GC and GC/MS techniques.
The PCO products are 2-hydroxylcyclohexanone (2), 1,2-cyclohexandione (3), 2-cyclohexenone(4), cyclohexanone
(5), and adipic acid (6).The formation of electron–hole pair at the surface of the catalyst followed by oxidation
reactions was the suggested mechanism. Kinetic studies revealed first-order mechanism for PCO of 1 and rate
constant (k) =
0.145 h–1. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.