• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.837-839
• /
• 2007

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.438-440
• /
• 1991

Each aqueous solution (pH = 1) of acetic acid, acetamide, and acetonitrile produces carbon dioxide and hydrogen at 300 K when irradiated in the presence of semiconductors such as titanium dioxide, platinized titanium dioxide, etc. Similar results were obtained for each of benzoic acid, benzamide, and benzonitrile. Based on the relative amount of carbon dioxide, nitrile is believed to be transformed into carboxylic acid through the intermediacy of amide. A mechanism in which hydrogen atom and hydroxyl radical are involved is presented.