Unveiling the Photocatalytic Activity of Carbon Dots/g-C3N4 Nanocomposite for the O-Arylation of 2-Chloroquinoline-3-carbaldehydes

Abstract

Visible-light-active, organic, heterogeneous photocatalysts offer an ecologically friendly and sustainable alternative to traditional metal-based catalysts. In this work, we report the microwave synthesis of nanocarbon dots (CDs), loaded with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). The fabricated nanocomposite was shown to exhibit various properties, such as the Schottky heterojunction. The optical properties, functional group analysis, surface morphology, crystallinity, chemical stability, electronic properties, and pore size distribution of the synthesized nanocomposite were analyzed by Ultraviolet-Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-DRS), Photoluminescence (PL), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Zeta potential, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). Until now, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports published on the light-assisted synthesis of O-arylation of 2-chloroquinoline-3-carbaldehyde. Therefore, we explored the photocatalytic activity of the fabricated nanocomposite in the production of the O-arylated 2-chloroquinoline-3-carbaldehyde. This facile technique uses a blue LED light source as a non-conventional source and operates under moderate conditions, resulting in useful O-arylated products. The experimental data shows the good recyclability of the catalyst for up to five cycles without a loss in catalytic activity, a simple operational protocol, easy recoverability of the catalyst, and good product yields (65–90%) within 12–24 h. Additionally, the preliminary mechanistic investigations are discussed. The results show that the phenoxy and quinoline-3-carbaldehyde radicals generated upon blue LED irradiation during the course of the reaction are responsible for C-O bond formation, which results in O-arylation. The present study clearly indicates that 0D/2D nanocomposites have a bright future as metal-free, heterogeneous photocatalysts suitable for organic reactions.