Large-scale synthesis of ultrathin tungsten oxide nanowire networks: an efficient catalyst for aerobic oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde under visible light.

As a very important chemical raw material, the selective formation of benzaldehyde from toluene at preparative or industrial levels requires the use of highly corrosive chlorine and high reaction temperatures, which severely corrodes equipment, pollutes the environment, and consumes a lot of energy. Herein, we report a robust and highly active catalyst for the benzaldehyde evolution reaction that is constructed by the surfactant-free growth of oxygen vacancy-rich W18O49 ultrathin nanowire networks. Under atmospheric pressure and visible-light irradiation, the new catalyst can selectively (92% selectivity) catalyze the aerobic oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde with yields of above 95%.