Efficient Conversion of Glucose to Methyl Lactate with Sn-USY: Retro-aldol Activity Promotion by Controlled Ion Exchange.

Sn-USY materials have been prepared through an optimized post-synthetic catalytic metalation procedure. These zeolites displayed, upon ion exchange with alkaline metals, an outstanding activity in the direct transformation of glucose into methyl lactate, yielding more than 70% of the starting glucose as the target product, and an overall combined retro-aldol condensation product yield above 95% in a short reaction time (<4 h). This outstanding catalytic performance is ascribed to the neutralization of Brønsted acid sites, the consequent depression of side reactions, and a higher population of tin open sites in the ion-exchanged Sn-USY zeolites. Reusability tests evidenced some loss of catalytic activity, partially caused by the closing of tin sites, although the use of small amounts of water in the reaction media demonstrated that this deactivation mechanism can be, at least, partially alleviated.

Dehydration of xylose to furfural over MCM-41-supported niobium-oxide catalysts.

A series of silica-based MCM-41-supported niobium-oxide catalysts are prepared, characterized by using XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and pyridine adsorption coupled to FTIR spectroscopy, and tested for the dehydration of D-xylose to furfural. Under the operating conditions used all materials are active in the dehydration of xylose to furfural (excluding the MCM-41 silica support). The xylose conversion increases with increasing Nb2 O5 content. At a loading of 16 wt % Nb2 O5 , 74.5 % conversion and a furfural yield of 36.5 % is achieved at 170 °C, after 180 min reaction time. Moreover, xylose conversion and furfural yield increase with the reaction time and temperature, attaining 82.8 and 46.2 %, respectively, at 190 °C and after 100 min reaction time. Notably, the presence of NaCl in the reaction medium further increases the furfural yield (59.9 % at 170 °C after 180 min reaction time). Moreover, catalyst reutilization is demonstrated by performing at least three runs with no loss of catalytic activity and without the requirement for an intermediate regeneration step. No significant niobium leaching is observed, and a relationship between the structure of the catalyst and the activity is proposed.

Preparation and characterization of Mg-Zr mixed oxide aerogels and their application as aldol condensation catalysts.

A series of Mg-Zr mixed oxides with different nominal Mg/(Mg+Zr) atomic ratios, namely 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.85, and 1, is prepared by alcogel methodology and fundamental insights into the phases obtained and resulting active sites are studied. Characterization is performed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N(2) adsorption-desorption isotherms, and thermal and chemical analysis. Cubic Mg(x)Zr(1-x)O(2-x) solid solution, which results from the dissolution of Mg(2+) cations within the cubic ZrO(2) structure, is the main phase detected for the solids with theoretical Mg/(Mg+Zr) atomic ratio ≤0.4. In contrast, the cubic periclase (c-MgO) phase derived from hydroxynitrates or hydroxy precursors predominates in the solid with Mg/(Mg+Zr)=0.85. c-MgO is also incipiently detected in samples with Mg/(Mg+Zr)=0.2 and 0.4, but in these solids the c-MgO phase mostly arises from the segregation of Mg atoms out of the alcogel-derived c-Mg(x)Zr(1-x)O(2-x) phase during the calcination process, and therefore the species c-MgO and c-Mg(x)Zr(1-x)O(2-x) are in close contact. Regarding the intrinsic activity in furfural-acetone aldol condensation in the aqueous phase, these Mg-O-Zr sites located at the interface between c-Mg(x)Zr(1-x)O(2-x) and segregated c-MgO display a much larger intrinsic activity than the other noninterface sites that are present in these catalysts: Mg-O-Mg sites on c-MgO and Mg-O-Zr sites on c-Mg(x)Zr(1-x)O(2-x). The very active Mg-O-Zr sites rapidly deactivate in the furfural-acetone condensation due to the leaching of active phases, deposition of heavy hydrocarbonaceous compounds, and hydration of the c-MgO phase. Nonetheless, these Mg-Zr materials with very high specific surface areas would be suitable solid catalysts for other relevant reactions catalyzed by strong basic sites in nonaqueous environments.

Catalytic dehydration of xylose to furfural: vanadyl pyrophosphate as source of active soluble species.

The acid-catalysed, aqueous phase dehydration of xylose (a monosaccharide obtainable from hemicelluloses, e.g., xylan) to furfural was investigated using vanadium phosphates (VPO) as catalysts: the precursors, VOPO(4)·2H(2)O, VOHPO(4)·0.5H(2)O and VO(H(2)PO(4))(2), and the materials prepared by calcination of these precursors, that is, γ-VOPO(4), (VO)(2)P(2)O(7) and VO(PO(3))(2), respectively. The VPO precursors were completely soluble in the reaction medium. In contrast, the orthorhombic vanadyl pyrophosphate (VO)(2)P(2)O(7), prepared by calcination of VOHPO(4)·0.5H(2)O at 550°C/2 h, could be recycled by simply separating the solid acid from the reaction mixture by centrifugation, and no drop in catalytic activity and furfural yields was observed in consecutive 4 h-batch runs (ca. 53% furfural yield, at 170°C). However, detailed catalytic/characterisation studies revealed that the vanadyl pyrophosphate acts as a source of active water-soluble species in this reaction. For a concentration of (VO)(2)P(2)O(7) as low as 5 mM, the catalytic reaction of xylose (ca. 0.67 M xylose in water, and toluene as solvent for the in situ extraction of furfural) gave ca. 56% furfural yield, at 170°C/6 h reaction.

Silylation of a Co/SiO2 catalyst. Characterization and exploitation of the CO hydrogenation reaction.

Several silylated- and nonsilylated Co/SiO2 catalysts have been prepared by reaction of the surface silanol groups with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS). These samples have been characterized by means of N2 adsorption isotherms, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (29Si and 1H), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and diffuse reflectance IR spectroscopy. We have focused on the study of the silylated surface stability at high temperatures and in different atmospheres. The characterization techniques have shown that silica silylation after cobalt impregnation leads to a silylated SiO2 surface composed of hydrophobic Si-(CH3)3 species highly stable up to 600-650 K in both oxidizing and reducing atmospheres. However, X-ray diffraction and temperature-programmed reduction have shown that the hydrophobic nature of the silica surface does not affect the metal dispersion and its reducibility. The materials prepared in this way have been tested as catalysts for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction. The CO conversion reaction rate increased over the silylated catalyst, probably as a consequence of the higher number of available active sites because water adsorption over the catalyst surface is impeded. However, catalyst deactivation was not affected by the hydrophobic nature of the support, suggesting that carbon deposition is the more probable mechanism of cobalt-based catalyst deactivation during the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.