The team of researchers make use of the –NH₂ terminal groups present in native C₃N₄ to covalently anchor an Fe(SalenCl₂) molecular catalyst without the need for any additional linkers (pictured). This is performed by reacting the aryl chloride group of the molecule with C₃N₄ in the presence of KO^tBu. With the Fe(Salen) attached to the surface, it is shown that styrene can be converted into styrene oxide under blue light-emitting diode irradiation in the presence of only O₂ and no other reagents. The reaction scope is expanded to cover a series of linear and cyclic alkenes including cyclohexene, α-pinene, 1-octene and cis-4-octene. The C₃N₄-FeCl(Salen) hybrid photocatalyst can be easily recovered by centrifugation and recycled.

The approach presented in this study offers a less-energy-intensive route than epoxidation by the Prilezhaev reaction using harsh stoichiometric peracids such as meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (m-CPBA), which are also hazardous to work with. Further optimization of conditions and different molecular catalyst combinations could be employed to enhance the efficiency and scope of reactivity.

研究团队利用天然 C₃N₄ 中存在的 –NH₂ 末端基团共价锚定 Fe（SalenCl₂） 分子催化剂，而无需任何额外的接头（如图）。这是通过在 KO^tBu 存在下将分子的芳基氯化物与 C₃N₄ 反应来实现的。将 Fe（Salen） 附着在表面后，表明苯乙烯可以在仅 O₂ 且没有其他试剂存在的情况下，在蓝光发光二极管照射下转化为苯乙烯氧化物。反应范围扩大到涵盖一系列直链和环状烯烃，包括环己烯、α-蒎烯、1-辛烯和顺-4-辛烯。C₃N_4-FeCl（Salen） 杂化光催化剂可以很容易地通过离心回收和回收。

本研究中提出的方法提供了一种比 Prilezhaev 反应的环氧化能耗更低的路线，使用苛刻的化学计量过酸，例如间氯过氧苯甲酸 （m-CPBA），这些酸也对使用有害。可以采用进一步优化条件和不同的分子催化剂组合来提高反应的效率和范围。