Photo-assisted oxidation of thiols to disulfides using cobalt ‘‘Nanorust’’ under visible light

Heterogeneous ‘‘Nanorust’’ containing cobalt oxide has been developed for the visible light assisted

oxidation of thiols to disulfides using molecular oxygen as an oxidant under alkaline free conditions and

therefore more environmentally friendly. Pyrolysis of heterogenized tetrasulfonated cobalt(II) phthalocyanine

(CoPcS) supported on mesoporous ceria (CeO2) transforms it into a novel heterogeneous ‘‘Nanorust’’

containing CoOx-C,N@CeO2 which exhibited higher catalytic activity than the homogeneous CoPcS as well

as the ceria immobilized CoPcS catalyst. Importantly, these catalysts could easily be recovered and recycled

for several runs, which makes the process greener and cost-effective