Search

The selective hydrogenolysis of sugar alcohols is a promising means to produce valuable products from renewable biomass resources. The previous Cu-based catalysts generally suffer from low activity and/or poor stability. We report the design and fabrication of a tailored mesoporous copper/ceria catalyst by a one-step solid-state grinding-assisted nanocasting method. This new catalyst truly replicated the morphology and mesoporous structure of the silica template such as SBA-15 and KIT-6. The characterization techniques strongly reflected that Cu2+ was successfully substituted into the CeO2 lattice and Cu nanoparticles were homogenously dispersed in the nanocomposite. This copper/ceria catalyst was highly active (TOF 4.8 h−1) and stable for 300 h in the hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,2-propanediol. The excellent catalytic performance is due to monodisperse Cu nanoparticles, strong interaction between Cu and CeO2 species, and tailored mesoporous structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite 1,3-propanediol possessing high economic value, its production from glycerol hydrogenolysis is a challenging task. Herein, a series of WO x promoted Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalysts with various WO x contents were prepared and investigated for selective production 1,3-propanediol from glycerol hydrogenolysis. To explore the structure feature, these catalysts were fully characterized by BET, CO chemisorption, HRTEM, XRD ( in situ XRD), Raman, NH 3 –TPD, Py–IR, H 2 –TPR, and XPS. Among them, Pt–10WO x /Al 2 O 3 achieved the highest 1,3-propanediol yield up to 42.4%, which was ascribed to the large concentration of Brønsted acid sites, strong electronic interaction between Pt with WO x and hydrogen spillover. The strong correlation between 1,3-propanediol yield and Brønsted acid site indicated its essential role for the formation of 1,3-propanediol. Meanwhile the linear correlation between 1,2-propanediol yield and Lewis acid site gave direct evidence that Lewis acid site preferentially generated 1,2-propanediol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Addition of SiO2 to PtW/Zr greatly enhanced activity and 1,3-propanediol selectivity. [•] 54.3% conversion and 52.0% 1,3-propanediol selectivity were achieved over 5PtW/ZrSi. [•] A model scheme of WO x transformation due to SiO2 doping has been built. [•] Pt and polytungstate have been identified as the dominant active phases. [•] Glycerol hydrogenolysis conforms to the dehydration–hydrogenation mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Alkaline metals Li, K, Rb and Cs were efficient for tune acidity of H4SiW12O40. [•] Li modified Pt–H4SiW12O40/ZrO2 exhibited superior 1,3-propanediol selectivity. [•] 1,3-Propanediol yield was proportional to the concentration of Brønsted acid sites. [•] A mechanistic scheme for glycerol hydrogenolysis to 1,3-propanediol was proposed. [•] A 120h long-term performance for Pt–H4SiW12O40/ZrO2 was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] B2O3 can promote the dispersion of copper species and stabilize copper particles. [•] Addition of B2O3 to Cu/SiO2 greatly enhanced activity and stability. [•] 100% Conversion and 98.0% 1,2-propanediol selectivity were achieved over 3CuB/SiO2. [•] 1,2-Propanediol yield was proportional to Cu specific surface area. [•] Glycerol hydrogenolysis is a structure-sensitive reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]