Highly efficient selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone over Cu-Re/TiO2bimetallic catalysts

Yingxin Liu, Kai Liu, Meihua Zhang, Kaiyue Zhang, Jiao Ma, Shuwen Xiao, Zuojun Wei, Shuguang Deng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Highly active and thermally stable Cu-Re bimetallic catalysts supported on TiO2 with 2.0 wt% loading of Cu were prepared via an incipient wetness impregnation method and were applied for liquid phase selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) to γ-valerolactone (GVL) in H2. The effect of the molar ratios of Cu : Re on the physico-chemical properties and the catalytic performance of the Cu-Re/TiO2 catalysts was investigated. Moreover, the influence of various reaction parameters on the hydrogenation of LA to GVL was studied. The results showed that the Cu-Re/TiO2 catalyst with a 1 : 1 molar ratio of Cu to Re (Cu-Re(1 : 1)/TiO2) exhibited the highest performance for the reaction. Complete conversion of LA with a 100% yield of GVL was achieved in 1,4-dioxane solvent under the reaction conditions of 180 °C, 4.0 MPa H2 for 4 h, and the catalyst could be reused at least 6 times with only a slight loss of activity. Combined with the characterization results, the high performance of the catalyst was mainly attributed to the well-dispersed Cu-Re nanoparticles with a very fine average size (ca. 0.69 nm) and the co-presence of Cu-Re bimetal and ReOx on the catalyst surface.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)602-610
Number of pages9
JournalRSC Advances
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 22 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering

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