Parrino Francesco, Livraghi Stefano, Giamello Elio, Palmisano Leonardo
Dipartimento di Energia, Ingegneria dell'Informazione e Modelli Matematici (DEIM), University of Palermo, viale delle Scienze Ed. 6, 90128, Palermo, Italy.
Dipartimento di Chimica and NIS, University of Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, 10125, Torino, Italy.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 Aug 13;57(33):10702-10706. doi: 10.1002/anie.201804879. Epub 2018 Jul 6.
Evidence of the existence of nitrate radical in irradiated aqueous TiO suspensions in the presence of nitrate ions are reported for the first time. The joint use of UV/Vis and EPR spectroscopy showed that nitrate radicals are formed by hole induced oxidation of nitrate ions. Photocatalytic degradation of a model alkene compound allowed to highlight the presence of an intermediate organic nitrate deriving from nitrate radical attack to the double bond of the substrate. These results not only allow deeper understanding of photocatalytic processes, but open the route to new green photocatalytic syntheses initiated by nitrate radicals and to new insights in the field of atmospheric chemistry.
