In situ preparation of highly active and selective Fe‐MOF/V‐C3N4 for photocatalytic hydroxylation of benzene to phenol

Abstract The selective photocatalytic oxidation of benzene to phenol under mild conditions is of great significance for the next‐generation phenol industry. In order to improve the efficiency of the phenol production process, a heterojunction catalyst based on Fe‐MOF/V–C 3 N 4 was synthesized by solvothermal method. Compared with Fe‐MOF and C 3 N 4 , the photogenerated charge separation rate of this composite catalyst was significantly enhanced, and the photogenerated electron‐hole complexation was significantly weakened.Under the optimal conditions, the yield and selectivity of phenol were 18.75 % and 96 % respectively, and the photocatalytic activity remained high after four reaction cycles. The improved strategy for this catalyst will provide some new insights for the development of more efficient photocatalysts for the direct hydroxylation of benzene to phenol.