Glucose production from hydrolysis of cellulose over a novel silica catalyst under hydrothermal conditions

A novel silica catalyst was synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly （EISA） method and tested for the catalytic selective hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose. This silica catalyst exhibited a higher catalytic activity than other oxides prepared by the same method, such as ZrO2, TiO2, and Al2O3. Using silica as a catalyst, cellulose was selectively hydrolyzed into glucose with a glucose yield as high as 50% under hydrothermal conditions without hydrogen gas. The silica catalyst was characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller （BET）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The results of temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia （NH3-TPD） and textural properties indicated that the synergistic effect between strong acidity and a suitable pore diameter of the silica catalyst may be responsible for its high activity. In addition, the catalyst was recyclable and showed excellent stability during the recycle catalytic runs.

Hydrothermal fabrication and visible-light-driven photocatalytic properties of bismuth vanadate with multiple morphologies and/or porous structures for Methyl Orange degradation

Monoclinic BiVO4 with multiple morphologies and/or porous structures were fabricated using the hydrothermal strategy. The materials were characterized by means of the XRD, Raman, TGA/DSC, SEM, XPS, and UV-Vis techniques. The photocatalytic activities of the BiVO4 materials were evaluated for the degradation of Methyl Orange under visible-light irradiation. It is observed that pH value and surfactant exerted a great effect on the morphology and pore structure of the BiVO4 product. Spherical BiVO4 with porous structures, flower-cluster-like BiVO4, and flower-bundle-like BiVO4 were generated hydrothermally at 100°C with poly（vinyl pyrrolidone） （PVP） and urea （pH = 2） and at 160°C with NaHCO3 （pH = 7 and 8）, respectively. The PVP-derived BiVO4 showed much higher surface areas （5.0-8.4 m2/g） and narrower bandgap energies （2.45-2.49 eV）. The best photocatalytic performance of the spherical BiVO4 material with a surface area of 8.4 m2/g was associated with its higher surface area, narrower bandgap energy, higher surface oxygen vacancy density, and unique porous architecture.

A simple granulation technique for preparing high-porosity nano copper oxide(Ⅱ) catalyst beads

A simple and efficient method was developed for fabricating spherical granules of CuO catalyst via a three-step procedure. In the first step, copper oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal decomposition of copper nitrate solution under supercritical condition. Then, they were immobilized in the polymeric matrix of calcium alginate, and followed by high-temperature calcination in an air stream as the third step, in which carbonaceous materials were oxidized, to result in a pebble-type catalyst of high porosity. The produced CuO nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM） that revealed an average size of 5 nm, X-ray diffractometry （XRD）, and thermo gravimetric （TG） analysis. The catalysts were further investigated by BET test for measurement of their surface area, and by temperature-programmed reduction analysis （H2-TPR） for determination of catalytic activity. The results demonstrated that immobilization of the CuO nanoparticle in the polymeric matrix of calcium alginate, followed by calcination at elevated temperatures, could result in notable mechanical strength and enhanced catalytic activity due to preservation of the high surface area, both valuable for practical applications.