Designing catalysts with suitable valence conduction band positions to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) with moderate redox capacity is to achieve efficient photocatalytic biomass-selective value-added oxidation. This protocol addresses the issue by tuning material structural defects, altering the surface electronic structure, and ultimately enhancing the raw material’s performance. Here, an appropriate amount of one - dimensional nanorods α-MnO2 adjusted material structural defects, increased the adsorbed oxygen (Oads)/lattice oxygen (Olatt) and Mn3+ ratios, and served as an electron transport conduit, facilitating O₂ activation to generate ROS. The Cd1.7In2S4.7 solid solution enables the optimal valence band position by adjusting the Cd2+: In3+ ratio, thus selectively oxidizing 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dicarbonylfuran (DFF). In situ XPS revealed that photogenerated electrons in Cd1.7In2S4.7 quickly transferred to the conduction band of α-MnO2, and photogenerated holes from α-MnO2 moved to the valence band of Cd1.7In2S4.7. This significantly enhanced the separation and transfer efficiency of photogenerated carriers at the interface. The optimal sample achieved 56% conversion of HMF and 72% selectivity of DFF under simulated sunlight. This protocol provides a new approach for the establishment of electron transport channel structures based on α-MnO2 constructs and value-added biomass photocatalytic conversion under simulated sunlight.

Electron transport channel-mediated Z-type α-MnO2/Cd1.7In2S4.7 heterojunction for photocatalytic conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-dicarbonylfuran
    Abstract
    1 Introduction
    2 Materials and methods
        2.1 Materials
        2.2 Experimental section
        2.3 Characterization
        2.4 Photocatalytic activity tests
    3 Result and discussion
        3.1 Catalyst characterization
        3.2 Performance of photocatalytic selective oxidation of HMF
        3.3 Separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers
        3.4 Charge transfer pathway and photocatalytic mechanism
    4 Conclusion
    References

• Yuwei Liang(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China)
• Yufan Huang(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China)
• Chunling Hu(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China)
• Jinyu Cai(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China)
• Yifan Cao(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China)
• Guihua Meng(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China)
• Jianning Wu(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China)
• Zhiyong Liu(School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Chemical Engineering of Xinjiang Bingtuan, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China) Corresponding author
• Qi Li(Xinjiang Production & Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Storage Materials and Technology, College of Science, Shihezi University, Beisi Road, Shihezi 832003, Xinjiang, China)