Selective oxidation with nanoporous silica supported sensitizers: An environment friendly process using air and visible light

► Photo-sensitizers were covalently grafted on silica matrices. ► Grafted powdered silica was characterized by diffuse reflectance and emission spectroscopy. ► Selective solvent-free photo-oxygenation was carried out with air under visible light. ► Singlet generation and reactivity at the gas-solid interface was demonstrated.