New catalyst with multiple active sites for selective hydrogenolysis of cellulose to ethylene glycol
Mohamed S. Hamdy,Murad A. Eissa,Sherif M. A. S. Keshk
Green Chemistry Pub Date : 09/18/2017 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/C7GC02122D
Abstract

Three different metals were successfully incorporated into the mesoporous siliceous material, TUD-1, for the first time. One-pot synthesis was applied to incorporate isolated Al3+, nanoparticles of WO3, and nanoparticles of metallic Ni with different loadings into TUD-1. The prepared materials were characterized by means of elemental analysis, XRD, N2 physisorption, NH3-TPD, SEM, EDX and TEM. Characterization data confirmed the incorporation of isolated Al3+ ions in the framework of TUD-1, in addition to metallic Ni (3–5 nm) and WO3 (10–15 nm) nanoparticles inside the pores of TUD-1 matrix. Moreover, extra-framework WO3 particles (0.5–1 μm) were also detected. The catalytic activity of the prepared samples was evaluated in the selective hydrogenolysis of cellulose into ethylene glycol at 503 K under 4 MPa of H2 pressure in the presence of water as a solvent. The catalyst with the multiple active sites exhibited the highest cellulose conversion (100%) after reaction for 90 min and the ethylene glycol yield was 76%.

Graphical abstract: New catalyst with multiple active sites for selective hydrogenolysis of cellulose to ethylene glycol