Intensification of Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Reactions using Wireless Light Emitters: The Case Study of Nitrobenzene Reduction

Delocalized internal irradiation is a promising technique for intensification and scale-up of photochemical processes as it avoids the otherwise inevitable light concentration. In particular, wireless light emitters (WLEs) powered by resonant inductive coupling showed promise in previous studies. However, the achieved photon flux was still relatively. Herein, we show that through systematic optimization, the WLE technique can reach extremely high photon flux densities and energy efficiency, surpassing conventional photochemical reaction systems. Moreover, the intensification potential is demonstrated on the basis of a case study: the photocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene in isopropanol using a TiO2 photocatalyst. The results also reveal a significant advantage of the WLE system. Due to the decentralized light emitters, light concentration is minimized which prevents or reduces efficiency losses due to kinetic limitations at high light intensity.