A highly efficient Cu/AlOOH catalyst obtained by in situ reduction: Catalytic transfer hydrogenation of ML into γ-GVL

• Published in: Molecular catalysis 2019-04, Vol.467, p.52-60
• Main Authors: Ma, Mingwei, Liu, Hui, Cao, Jingjie, Hou, Pan, Huang, Jiahui, Xu, Xingliang, Yue, Huijuan, Tian, Ge, Feng, Shouhua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbonyl compounds; Catalytic transfer hydrogenation; In situ reduced Cu/AlOOH; Nanocatalyst; Zero-Valent copper
• ISSN: 2468-8231; 2468-8231
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mcat.2019.01.033

In the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of biomass-derived ML into γ-GVL, we propose a one-step strategy for catalyst preparation and the CTH reaction. Using the strategy, the production of γ-GVL was performed with 2-PrOH as solvent over in situ reduced nano-Cu/AlOOH catalyst from Cu2(OH)2CO3/AlOOH. Meanwhile, the catalyst is heterogeneous and of high catalytic activity and stability due to the stability of the zero-valent copper in the catalyst and the nanosized catalyst. [Display omitted] •In situ reduction Cu/AlOOH catalystsefficiently participated in the CTH reaction from ML to γ-GVL with 2-PrOH as solvent.•In situ reduced Cu/AlOOH showed high catalytic activity and stability.•The excellent nature is attributed to the stability of the zero-valent copper and the nanosized particles of the catalyst.•The catalysts show general applicability to other carbonyl compounds. Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of carbonyl compounds is considered as one of the most promising processes in the synthesis of fuels and chemicals. In this work, we propose a one-step strategy for catalyst preparation and CTH. Using the strategy, the production of γ-valerolactone (γ-GVL) was performed with isopropanol (2-PrOH) as solvent over in situ reduced nano-Cu/AlOOH catalyst from Cu2(OH)2CO3/AlOOH and the optimal reaction conditions for γ-GVL are 180 °C for 5 h using the in situ reduced catalyst with Cu/Al molar ratio 3/1 (90.51% yields of γ-GVL). Furthermore, it has been confirmed by different characterization methods (such as: SEM, TEM, XPS, etc.) that the catalyst is heterogeneous and exhibits high catalytic activity and stability which is attributed to the stability of the zero-valent copper in the catalyst and the nanosized particles of the catalyst. In addition, the catalysts also show general applicability to other carbonyl compounds.