Visible light driven selective photocatalytic synthesis of high-value carbonyl compounds from glycerol over Ag-AgBr/TiO2 nanocomposites in acetonitrile

Abstract Ag-AgBr/TiO2 ternary nanocomposites fabricated by facile photo-deposition were applied for selective oxidation of glycerol into glyceraldehyde (GAD) and dihydroxyacetone (DHA) in non-aqueous solvent under aerobic conditions. Although a lower conversion of glycerol was observed in acetonitrile than in water after 240 min, a significantly higher yield of GAD (19%) and DHA (13%) was obtained likely due to the lower generation of non-selective •OH radicals in the non-aqueous solvent. Obtained results underscore the vital role of solvent in photocatalytic upgrading of glycerol.