Daiwei Li, Jiajia Dong, Yajuan Xu, Ruixing Li, Jianyu Zhang, Siqi Ying, Huihui Gan, Cuiqing Zhang, Tianyi Wu, Shizheng Zheng, Changyuan Hu
Rhodamine 110 (Rh-110) serves as a critical precursor for constructing pro-fluorophores, however, its development has been hindered by the backward traditional synthesis methods. This study presents a highly efficient and low-cost preparation method of Rh-110 through the photocatalytic transformation of Rhodamine B (RhB), a common environmental pollutant, utilizing a novel multi-layer structured Bi/BiOCl@Ti-MOF@BiOCl (BTBC) photocatalyst. The elaborately designed BTBC has large specific surface area, high negative surface charge, remarkable visible-light absorption performance, and appropriate bandgap structure. The above features endow BTBC with the dual functions of photocatalysis and photosensitization. •O 2 – or •OH-dominated conversion performance of RhB to Rh-110 can be tuned by regulating the content of constituent and surface photoelectric property of BTBC. The well-designed BTBC-4 not only meets the requirements of RhB adsorption mode and generation of •O 2 – -dominated radicals for the synthesis of Rh-110, but also ensures the high conversion efficiency of RhB to Rh-110. Consequently, under visible light irradiation, the optimal BTBC-4 catalyst exhibits a high Rh-110 yield of 92.5% within 120 min, providing a successful example for eco-friendly and efficient synthesis of high-value added chemical products.