Carbon nitride nanosheets decorated with WO₃ nanorods: Ultrasonic-assisted facile synthesis and catalytic application in the green manufacture of dialdehydes

Carbon nitride nanosheets decorated with WO₃ nanorods (WO₃/g-C₃N₄) were fabricated via ultrasonic-assisted dispersion and conventional incipient wetness impregnation method. It is found that ultrasonic promoted the formation of g-C₃N₄ nanosheets efficiently. The promotion effect in the structural evolution and catalytic performance for the rod-like structure of WO₃ caused by g-C₃N₄ nanosheets were well studied. For the first time, the novel WO₃/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposites were used as efficient catalysts in the green process of dialdehydes from the selective oxidation of cycloalkene oxides using H₂O₂ as a clean oxidant, owing to the high dispersion of active sites and the strong interaction between cycloalkene oxides and the NH or NH₂ groups on the surface of g-C₃N₄ sheets. Here, C₃N₄ nanosheets are considered as the catalyst support and co-catalyst as well. The novel nanocomposites are very stable and can be reused for five times without obvious loss of catalytic activity.