{Ru(C₆H₆)}-Decorating Heteropolymolybdate for Highly Activity Photocatalytic Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol to Benzaldehyde

An unclassical structure of {Ru(C6H6)}-based polyoxometalate, Cs6H4[Te2Mo12O46{Ru(C6H6)}] & sdot; 16.5H(2)O (1), has been successfully constructed from {Te2Mo12O46}-type heteropolymolybdate and {Ru(C6H6)} group, which structure type was discovered for the first time. Compound 1 not only possesses strong light-harvesting ability, but also exhibits high carrier separation efficiency and lower charge transfer resistance. Under visible light irradiation, compound 1 displayed excellent catalytic activity and circularity in the conversion of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde (yield=94 %; turnover number=500; turnover frequency=20.8 h(-1)). Finally, the electron paramagnetic resonance measurement and energy level matching analysis provide theoretical basis for the derivation of the reaction mechanism.