Monoclinic bismuth vanadate nanoparticles (nan-BiVO₄) have been used for the selective photo-oxidation of benzyl alcohols (13 examples) to benzaldehydes under visible light irradiation using dioxygen as oxidant. Illumination with a blue LED (λ_max = 470 nm) gave yields more than 30 times greater than bulk BiVO₄ with >99% selectivity for several cases. Photo-oxidation of PhCH₂OH/PhCD₂OH isotopomers gave a kinetic isotope effect of 1.3 indicating that CH bond activation is not the rate determining step in contrast to other reported photocatalysts including TiO₂ and carbon nitride. Collectively, structural characterisation, spectroscopic, and reactivity data are correlated with the greater surface area of nan-BiVO₄ compared to bulk BiVO₄. Furthermore, conversion is shown to be limited as reaction progresses. Control experiments indicate that photo-oxidation is retarded by product aldehyde and that trace amounts (<1%) of the corresponding benzoic acid, from over-oxidation, result in significant reduction in conversion.

单斜晶钒酸铋纳米颗粒（nan-BiVO ₄）已被用于在双氧作为氧化剂的可见光照射下，将苄醇（13个实例）选择性光氧化为苯甲醛。在某些情况下，用蓝色LED照明（_λmax  = 470 nm）可以提供比块状BiVO ₄高30倍以上的产率，且选择性> 99％。PhCH ₂ OH / PhCD ₂ OH同位素异构体的光氧化产生的动力学同位素效应为1.3，表明与其他已报道的包括TiO _2的光催化剂相比，C H键的活化不是决定速率的步骤和氮化碳。总的来说，与本体BiVO ₄相比，结构表征，光谱和反应性数据与nan-BiVO ₄的更大表面积相关。此外，显示出随着反应的进行，转化受到限制。对照实验表明，产物醛可阻止光氧化作用，并且过氧化会导致痕量（<1％）的相应苯甲酸过分转化，导致转化率显着降低。