Understanding the catalytic performance and deactivation behaviour of second-promoter doped Pt/WO_(χ)/γ-Al_(2)O_(3) catalysts in the glycerol hydrogenolysis for selective and cleaner production of 1,3-propanediol

The selective aqueous-phase glycerol hydrogenolysis is a promising reaction to produce commercially useful 1,3-propanediol(1,3-PDO).The Pt-WOx bifunctional catalyst can catalyse the glycerol hydrogenol-ysis but the catalyst deactivation via sintering,metal leaching,and coking can predominantly occur in the aqueous phase reaction.In this work,the effect of reaction temperature,pressure and second promoter(Cu,Fe,Rh,Mn,Re,Ru,Ir,Sn,B,and P)on catalytic performance and deactivation behaviour of Pt/WOx/-Al2O3 was investigated.When doped with Rh,Mn,Re,Ru,Ir,B,and P,the second promoter boosts catalytic activity by promoting great dispersion of Pt on support and increasing Pt surface area.The increased Bronsted acid sites lead to selective synthesis of 1,3-PDO than 1,2-propanediol(1,2-PDO).The characterization studies of fresh and spent catalysts reveal that the main cause of catalyst deactivation is the Pt sintering,as interpreted based on XRD,CO chemisorption,and TEM analyses.The Pt sintering is affected depending on the second promoter that can either or reduce the interaction between Pt,WO_(χ)/γ and Al_(2)O_(3).As an electron acceptor of Pt in Pt/WO_(χ)/γ-Al_(2)O_(3),Re and Mn as second promoters resulted in increased Pt^(2+) on the catalytic surface,which strengthens the contact between Pt andγ-Al_(2)O_(3) and WO_(χ),resulting in a decrease in Pt sintering.The metal leaching and coking are not affected by the presence of second promoter.The catalyst modified with a second promoter possesses improved catalytic activity and 1,3-PDO production,however the stability continues to remain a challenge.The present work unrav-elled the determining parameters of catalytic activity and deactivation,thus providing a promising pro-tocol toward effective catalysts for glycerol hydrogenolysis.

Functional zirconium phosphate nanosheets enabled transfer hydrogenolysis of aromatic ether bonds over a low usage of Ru nanocatalysts

Catalytic hydrogenolysis of aromatic ether bonds is a highly promising strategy for upgrading lignin into small-molecule chemicals,which relies on developing innovative heterogeneous catalysts with high activity.Herein,we designed porous zirconium phosphate nanosheet-supported Ru nanocatalysts(Ru/ZrPsheet)as the heterogeneous catalyst by a process combining ball milling and molten-salt(KNO_(3)).Very interestingly,the fabricated Ru/ZrPsheetshowed good catalytic performance on the transfer hydrogenolysis of various types of aromatic ether bonds contained in lignin,i.e.,4-O-5,a-O-4,β-O-4,and aryl-O-CH3,over a low Ru usage(<0.5 mol%)without using any acidic/basic additive.Detailed investigations indicated that the properties of Ru and the support were indispensable.The excellent activity of Ru/ZZrPsheetoriginated from the strong acidity and basicity of ZrPsheetand the higher electron density of metallic Ru0as well as the nanosheet structure of ZrPsheet.

Selective hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived furfuryl alcohol into 1,2- and 1,5-pentanediol over highly dispersed Cu-Al_2O_3 catalysts

Cu nanoparticles supported on a variety of oxide supports, including SiO2, TiO2, ZrO2, Al2O3, MgO and ZnO, were investigated for the hydrogenolysis of biomass‐derived furfuryl alcohol to1,2‐pentanediol and 1,5‐pentanediol. A Cu‐Al2O3 catalyst with 10 wt% Cu loading prepared by a co‐precipitation method exhibited the best performance in terms of producing pentanediols compared with the other materials. This catalyst generated an 85.8% conversion and a 70.3% combined selectivity for the target pentanediols at 413 K and 8 MPa H2 over an 8‐h reaction. The catalyst could also be recycled over repeated reaction trials without any significant decrease in productivity. Characterizations with X‐ray diffraction, NH3/CO2‐temperature programmed desorption, N2 adsorption,transmission electron microscopy and N2 O chemisorption demonstrated that intimate and effective interactions between Cu particles and the acidic Al2O3 support in this material greatly enhanced its activity and selectivity. The promotion of the hydrogenolysis reaction was found to be especially sensitive to the Cu particle size, and the catalyst with Cu particles 1.9 to 2.4 nm in size showed the highest turnover frequency during the synthesis of pentanediols.

Urchin-like CoCu Bimetallic Nanocomposites for Catalytic Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol to Propanediols

Bimetallic CoCu nanocomposites were synthesized in polyol by using Ru as heterogeneous nucleation agent and stearic acid as surfactant, and their catalytic properties were investi- gated by hydrogenolysis of glycerol to propanediols. It was found that the surfactant could induce Co nanocrystals to form nanowires as structure-directing agent, while it＇s ineffective for Cu because only spherical Cu particles were produced under the same condition. When Co2＋ and Cu2＋ coexist in polyol, Cu2＋ is firstly reduced and forms the spherical particles, and then the Cu particles afford surface for the subsequential reduction of Co2＋ and growth of Co nanocrystals to form the nanorods, obtaining the urchin-like CoCu nanocomposites. The catalytic performance in selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to propanediols proposed that the CoCu urchin-like nanocomposites was superior to the Co nanowires possibly due to that the synergistic effect between Co and Cu component promoted conversion of glyc- erol and obtained the higher propanediol yields based on the specific surface areas of the catalysts.

Effects of alkaline additives on the formation of lactic acid in sorbitol hydrogenolysis over Ni/C catalyst

Lactic acid is produced as a major byproduct during sorbitol hydrogenolysis under alkaline conditions.We investigated the effects of two different alkaline additives,Ca（OH）2 and La（OH）3,on lactic acid formation during sorbitol hydrogenolysis over Ni/C catalyst.In the case of Ca（OH）2,the selectivity of lactic acid was 8.9%.In contrast,the inclusion of La（OH）3 resulted in a sorbitol conversion of 99% with only trace quantities of lactic acid being detected.In addition,the total selectivity towards the C2 and C4 products increased from 20.0% to 24.5% going from Ca（OH）2 to La（OH）3.These results therefore indicated that La（OH）3 could be used as an efficient alkaline additive to enhance the conversion of sorbitol.Pyruvic aldehyde,which is formed as an intermediate during sorbitol hydrogenolysis,can be converted to both 1,2-propylene glycol and lactic acid by hydrogenation and rearrangement reactions,respectively.Notably,these two reactions are competitive.When Ca（OH）2 was used as an additive for sorbitol hydrogenolysis,both the hydrogenation and rearrangement reactions occurred.In contrast,the use of La（OH）3 favored the hydrogenation reaction,with only trace quantities of lactic acid being formed.

Selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol over Pt-W based catalysts

The selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol(1,3-PDO)is an attractive reaction due to the high demand for valorization of huge excess amounts of glycerol supply as well as the important application of 1,3-PDO in polyester industry.Nevertheless,the formation of 1,3-PDO is thermodynamically less favorable than 1,2-PDO,which necessitates the development of efficient catalysts to manipulate the reaction kinetics towards the 1,3-PDO formation.Among others,Pt-W based catalysts have shown promising activities and selectivities of 1,3-PDO although the reaction mechanism is not well addressed at the molecular level.In this short review,we have compared the performances of different Pt-W based catalysts and discussed the key factors influencing the activity and selectivity.Three possible reaction mechanisms have been discussed in terms of the synergy between Pt and WO_x and the origin of acid sites.Finally,the long-term stability of the Pt-W catalysts has been discussed.We hope this review will provide useful information for the development of more efficient catalysts for this important reaction.

Effect of promoters on the selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol over Pt/W-containing catalysts

Diverse promoters,including noble metals（such as Ru,Ir and Rh） and transition metal oxides（such as Re,La,Fe,Zr,Sn and Ce oxides） were introduced into Pt/WOx and Pt/WOx/Al2O3 catalysts to investigate the ability of these promoters to modify activity and selectivity during glycerol hydrogenolysis to 1,3-propanediol.Among these,La exhibited the greatest promotional effect;the introduction of 0.1% La to the Pt/WOx improved activity,selectivity and stability,although the significant increase in selectivity came at the cost of a slight activity loss in the case of the Pt/WOx/Al2O3 catalyst.Transmission electron microscopy,high angle annular dark field scanning tunneling electron microscopy and NH3-temperature programmed desorption all demonstrated that the introduction of La generates a greater quantity of acidic sites on the catalyst surface,and that the majority of the La species are associated with Pt particles.Most of the other additives resulted in only minimal improvements or even detrimental effects with regard to both activity and selectivity,although some appear to improve the stability of the catalyst.

Pt/Nb‐WO_x for the chemoselective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3‐propanediol: Nb dopant pacifying the over‐reduction of WO_x supports

Selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3‐propanediol（1,3‐PD） is an important yet challenging method for the transformation of biomass into value‐added chemicals due to steric hindrance and unfavorable thermodynamics. In previous studies, chemoselective performances were found de‐manding and sensitive to H2 pressure. In this regard, we manipulate the chemical/physical charac‐teristics of the catalyst supports via doping Nb into WOx and prepared 1D needle‐, 2D flake‐, and 3D sphere‐stack mesoporous structured Nb‐WOx with increased surface acid sites. Moreover, Nb dop‐ing can successfully inhibit the over‐reduction of active W species during glycerol hydrogenolysis and substantially broaden the optimal H2 pressure from 1 to 5 MPa. When Nb doping is 2%, sup‐ported Pt catalysts showed promising performance for the selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3‐PD over an unprecedentedly wide H2 pressure range, which will guarantee better catalyst sta‐bility in the long run, as well as expand their applications to other hydrogen‐related reactions.

Understanding the deactivation behavior of Pt/WO3/Al2O3 catalyst in the glycerol hydrogenolysis reaction

The selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol is a highly important reaction for both improving the profitability of biodiesel and valorization of biomass.While intensive research efforts have been devoted to enhancing the catalytic activity and selectivity,little is focused on the stability although the latter is of paramount importance to practical applications.In this work,we investigated the stability of Pt/WO3/Al2O3 and observed a continuous deactivation trend during a 700 h time-on-stream run.Neither the leaching of active W nor the coking was responsible for the deactivation.Instead,XRD,HAADF-STEM and CO chemisorption results clearly showed the occurrence of significant aggregation of Pt particles,which caused a remarkable decrease of Pt-WOx interfacial sites.As a consequence,strong Br?nsted acid sites which were in situ formed by H2 dissociation at the Pt-WOx interfacial sites were reduced,leading to the deactivation of the catalyst.

Kinetics of Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol to Propylene Glycol over Cu-ZnO-Al2O3 Catalysts

A series of Cu-ZnO-Al2O3 catalysts with various metal compositions of Cu/Zn/Al were prepared by the co-precipitation method,and screened for glycerol hydrogenolysis to propylene glycol.The catalyst with a Cu/Zn/Al molar ratio of 1:1:0.5 exhibited the best performance for glycerol hydrogenolysis,and thus selected for kinetic investigation.Under elimination of external and internal diffusion limitation,kinetic experiments were performed in an isothermal fixed-bed reactor at a hydrogen pressure range of 3.0-5.0 MPa and a temperature range of 493-513 K. Based on a dehydration-hydrogenation two-step hydrogenolysis mechanism,a two-site Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model taking into account competitive adsorption of glycerol,acetol and propylene glycol was proposed and successfully fitted to the experimental data.The average relative errors between observed and predicted outlet concentrations of glycerol and propylene glycol were 6.3%and 7.6%,respectively.The kinetic and adsorption parameters were estimated by using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method together with the Rosenbrock algorithm.The activation energies for dehydration and hydrogenation reactions were 86.56 and 57.80 kJ·mol-1,respectively.

Selective hydrogenolysis of furfuryl alcohol to 1,5-and 1,2-pentanediol over Cu-LaCoO_3 catalysts with balanced Cu^O-CoO sites

Selective hydrogenolysis of biomass‐derived furfuryl alcohol(FFA)to 1,5‐and 1,2‐pentanediol(PeD)was conducted over Cu‐LaCoO3 catalysts with different Cu loadings;the catalysts were derived from perovskite structures prepared by a one‐step citrate complexing method.The catalytic performances of the Cu‐LaCoO3 catalysts were found to depend on the Cu loading and pretreatment conditions.The catalyst with 10 wt%Cu loading exhibited the best catalytic performance after prereduction in 5%H2‐95%N2,achieving a high FFA conversion of 100%and selectivity of 55.5%for 1,5‐pentanediol(40.3%)and 1,2‐pentanediol(15.2%)at 413 K and 6 MPa H2.This catalyst could be reused four times without a loss of FFA conversion but it resulted in a slight decrease in pentanediol selectivity.Correlation between the structural changes in the catalysts at different states and the simultaneous variation in the catalytic performance revealed that cooperative catalysis between Cu0 and CoO promoted the hydrogenolysis of FFA to PeDs,especially to 1,5‐PeD,while Co0 promoted the hydrogenation of FFA to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol(THFA).Therefore,it is suggested that a synergetic effect between balanced Cu0 and CoO sites plays a critical role in achieving a high yield of PeDs with a high 1,5‐/1,2‐pentanediol selectivity ratio during FFA hydrogenolysis.

Selective hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-dimethylfuran over Co_3O_4 catalyst by controlled reduction

2,5-dimethyfuran(DMF), which is produced from 5-hydroxymethyfurfural(HMF) by hydrodeoxygenation(HDO), is a high quality fuel due to the high heating value, the high octane number and the suitable boiling point. Selective hydrogenation of HMF into liquid fuel DMF has been widely researched. In this paper, Co_3O_4 catalyst was prepared by co-precipitation and was reduced at different temperatures to form Co–CoO_x catalysts. The characterization of catalysts was tested by XRD, TEM, XPS, TPR, BET and NH3-TPD.Co–CoO_x possessed a high amount of Co metal and CoO_x acidic sites, wherein Co worked as the active hydrogenation sites and CoO_x acted as the acid promoter to facilitate the selective HDO of HMF to DMF.The synergistic effect of Co–CoO_x is the key for HDO of HMF, obtaining 83.3% of DMF yield at 170 °C, 12 h and the reduction temperature of 400 °C. This method not only saves the catalyst cost, but also promotes the utilization of biomass energy.

Catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis as an efficient route in cleavage of lignin and model compounds

Cleavage of aromatic ether bonds through hydrogenolysis is one of the most promising routes for depolymerisation and transformation of lignin into value-added chemicals. Instead of using pressurized hydrogen gas as hydrogen source, some reductive organic molecules, such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol as well as formates and formic acid, can serve as hydrogen donor is the process called catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis. This is an emerging and promising research field but there are very few reports. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the works is presented on catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis of lignin and lignin model compounds aiming to breakdown the aromatic ethers including a-O-4, b-O-4 and 4-O-5 linkages, with focus on reaction mechanisms. The works are organised regarding to different hydrogen donors used, to gain an in-depth understanding of the special role of various hydrogen donors in this process. Perspectives on current challenges and opportunities of future research to develop catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis as a competitive and unique strategy for lignin valorisation are also provided.

Chemoselective hydrogenolysis of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol to 1,5-pentanediol over Ir-MoO_x/SiO_2 catalyst

In this work, MoOx promoted Ir/SiO2 catalysts were prepared and used for the selective hydrogenolysis of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol （THFA） to 1,5-pentanediol in a continuous flow reactor. The effects of different noble metals （Ir, Pt, Pd, Ru, Rh）, supports and Ir contents were screened. Among the investigated catalysts, 4 wt%Ir-MoOx/SiO2 with a Mo/Ir atomic ratio of 0.13 exhibited the best catalytic performance. The synergy between Ix particles and the partially reduced isolated MoOx species attached on them is essential for the excellent catalytic performance of Ix-MoOx/SiO2. The catalyst exhibited a better hydrogenolysis efficiency of THFA with the selectivity of 1,5-pentanediol of 65%-74% at a conversion of THFA of 70%-75% when the initial THFA concentration is ranging from 20 wt% and 40 wt%. And higher system pressure was also in favor of the conversion of THFA. During a stability test, the conversion of THFA and 1,5-pentanediol yield over Ix-MoOz/SiO2 decreased with reaction time, which can be explained by the leaching of Mo species during the reaction.

Production of bio-ethanol by consecutive hydrogenolysis of corn-stalk cellulose

Current bio-ethanol production entails the enzymatic depolymerization of cellulose,but this process shows low efficiency and poor economy.In this work,we developed a consecutive aqueous hydrogenolysis process for the conversion of corn-stalk cellulose to produce a relatively high concentration of bio-ethanol(6.1 wt%)without humin formation.A high yield of cellulose(ca.50 wt%)is extracted from corn stalk using a green solvent(80 wt%1,4-butanediol)without destroying the structure of the lignin.The first hydrothermal hydrogenolysis step uses a Ni–WO_(x)/SiO_(2)catalyst to convert the high cumulative concentration of cellulose(30 wt%)into a polyol mixture with a 56.5 C%yield of ethylene glycol(EG).The original polyol mixture is then subjected to subsequent selective aqueous-phase hydrogenolysis of the C–O bond to produce bioethanol(75%conversion,84 C%selectivity)over the modified hydrothermally stable Cu catalysts.The added Ni component favors the good dispersion of Cu nanoparticles,and the incorporated Au3+helps to stabilize the active Cu^(0)-Cu^(+)species.This multi-functional catalytic process provides an economically competitive route for the production of cellulosic ethanol from raw lignocellulose.

Influence of supports for selective production of 2,5-dimethylfuran via bimetallic copper-cobalt catalyzed 5-hydroxymethylfurfural hydrogenolysis

The hydrogenolysis of carbon–oxygen bonds is an important model reaction in upgrading biomass‐derived furanic compounds to transportation fuels.One of these model reactions,namelyconversion of5‐hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF)to the gasoline additive2,5‐dimethylfuran(DMF),isespecially attractive.In this study,bimetallic Cu‐Co catalysts supported on CeO2,ZrO2,and Al2O3were used for the selective hydrogenolysis of HMF to DMF.The structures of the fresh and usedcatalysts were studied using X‐ray diffraction,the Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller method,transmissionelectron microscopy,temperature‐programmed reduction by H2,temperature‐programmed desorptionof NH3,and CHNS analysis.The structures were correlated with the catalytic activities.TheCu‐Co/CeO2catalyst produced mainly2,5‐bis(hydroxymethyl)furan via reduction of C=O bonds onlarge Cu particles.The Cu‐Co/Al2O3catalyst gave the best selectivity for DMF,as a result of a combinationof highly dispersed Cu,mixed copper–cobalt oxides,and suitable weak acidic sites.Cu‐Co/ZrO2had low selectivity for DMF and produced a combination of variousover‐hydrogenolysis products,including2,5‐dimethyltetrahydrofuran and5,5‐oxybis(methylene)‐bis(2‐methylfuran),because of the presence of strong acidic sites.The reaction pathways and effectsof various operating parameters,namely temperature,H2pressure,and time,were studied to enableoptimization of the selective conversion of HMF to DMF over the Cu‐Co/Al2O3catalyst.

Efficient one-pot hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived xylitol into ethylene glycol and 1,2-propylene glycol over Cu–Ni–ZrO_2 catalyst without solid bases

The directly selective hydrogenolysis of xylitol to ethylene glycol(EG) and 1,2-propylene glycol(1,2-PDO)was performed on Cu–Ni–ZrO_2 catalysts prepared by a co-precipitation method. Upon optimizing the reaction conditions(518 K, 4.0 MPaH_2 and 3 h), 97.0% conversion of xylitol and 63.1% yield of glycols were obtained in water without extra inorganic base. The catalyst still remained stable activity after six cycles and above 80% total selectivity of glycols was obtained when using 20.0% xylitol concentration. XRD, TEM and ICP results indicated that Cu–Ni–ZrO_2 catalysts possess favorable stability. Cu and Ni are beneficial to the cleavage of C–O and C–H bond, respectively. To reduce the hydrogen consumption, isopropanol was added as in-situ hydrogen source and 96.4% conversion of xylitol with 43.6% yield of glycols were realized.

Self-reducing bifunctional Ni-W/SBA-15 catalyst for cellulose hydrogenolysis to low carbon polyols

A series of self-reducing bifunctional Ni-W/SBA-15 catalysts were synthesized using biomass-based carbon source as the reducing agent without conventional further reduction step. The self-reducing catalysts were performed on the hydrogenolysis of cellulose to low carbon polyols. The effects of calcination temperature and metallic loading contents for cellulose hydrogenolysis reaction were investigated detailedly.The optimal calcination temperature was found to be 673 K by TG analysis. The active metal nanoparticles with a better dispersion were observed using SEM and element mapping technology. The yield of low carbon polyols using the catalyst with the receipt of 10%Ni-15%W/SBA-15-673 K can reach as high as68.14%, of which the ethylene glycol(EG) accounts for 61.04%.

Catalytic performance of zinc-supported copper and nickel catalysts in the glycerol hydrogenolysis

Gas-phase catalytic conversion of glycerol to value added chemicals was investigated over zinc-supported copper and nickel catalysts.The addition of aluminum in the support was also investigated in glycerol conversion and the results indicate an increase in the acidity and adsorption capacity for both copper and nickel catalysts.HRTEM and XRD analysis revealed Ni Zn alloy formation in the Ni/ZnO catalyst.The XRD patterns of the prepared Zn Al mixed oxide catalysts show the presence of Gahanite phase(ZnAl2O4).In addition,H2 chemisorption and TPR results suggest a strong metal-support interactions(SMSI)effect between Ni and Zn O particles.Bare supports Zn O and ZnAl(Zn/Al=0.5)were investigated in the glycerol conversion and they did not present activity.Copper supported on ZnO and ZnAl mixed oxide(Zn/Al=0.5)was active towards hydroxyacetone formation.Nickel was active in the hydrogenolysis of glycerol both for C–C and C–O bonds cleavage of glycerol producing CH4.Strong metal-support interactions(SMSI)between Ni and ZnO has a remarkable suppression effect on the methanation activity during the glycerol conversion.

Glycerol hydrogenolysis to n‐propanol over Zr‐Al composite oxide‐supported Pt catalysts

Zr‐Al mixed oxide supported Pt catalysts with different Zr/Al mole ratios（2.5%Pt/ZrxAl（1–x）Oy） were synthesized by an impregnation method and used for the selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol to n‐propanol in an autoclave reactor. The catalysts were fully characterized by X‐ray powder diffrac‐tion, Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller surface area analysis, CO chemisorption, H2 temperature‐ pro‐grammed reduction, pyridine‐infrared spectroscopy, and NH3‐temperature‐programmed desorp‐tion. The results revealed that the Zr/Al ratio on the support significantly affected the size of the platinum particles and the properties of the acid sites on the catalysts. The catalytic performance was well correlated with the acidic properties of the catalyst; specifically, more acid sites contrib‐uted to the conversion and strong acid sites with a specific intensity contributed to the deep dehy‐dration of glycerol to form n‐propanol. Among the tested catalysts, 2.5 wt% Pt/Zr（0.7）Al（0.3）Oy exhibited excellent selectivity for n‐propanol with 81.2% glycerol conversion at 240 °C and 6.0 MPa H2 pres‐sure when 10% aqueous glycerol solution was used as the substrate. In addition, the effect of vari‐ous reaction parameters, such as H2 content, reaction temperature, reaction time, and number of experimental cycles were studied to determine the optimized reaction conditions and to evaluate the stability of the catalyst.