Efficient Glucose Hydrogenation to Sorbitol by Graphene-like Carbon-Encapsulated Ru Catalyst Synthesized by Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly and Chemical Activation

Abstract

As one of the important value-added chemicals that has wide applications, the catalytic hydrogenation of glucose to sorbitol has been a hot topic in biomass upgrading. In order to support the prosperity of the sorbitol industry, catalysts with superior activity, higher selectivity, longer life, and lower cost are desirable. Herein, tremelliform graphene-like carbon-encapsulated Ru catalysts (Ru/GLC) were synthesized from 4-nitrocatechol by using solvent evaporation-induced self-assembly and KHCO3 chemical activation processes. The Ru/GLC materials were used for the catalytic hydrogenation of glucose to sorbitol, and the best Ru/GLC-600 sample prepared at a 600 °C activation temperature exhibited both high glucose conversion of 100% and sorbitol yield of 96.8% at 140 °C and 3 MPa H2 in 120 min. The Ru/GLC-600 catalyst exhibited excellent stability and durability that sorbitol yield could be remained at 95.4% after recycling five runs. The catalyst was applicable to concentrated glucose solutions (50 wt %) with 95.6% sorbitol yield. Compared with previously reported catalysts, Ru/GLC catalyst had lower apparent activation energy (E a = 30.66 kJ/mol) and higher turnover frequency (TOF = 1680.6 h–1). This work provides a simple one-pot synthesis strategy for graphene-like carbon materials for metal encapsulating, and the prepared materials exhibited high catalytic activity and stability for glucose hydrogenation to sorbitol.

Chemocatalytic production of sorbitol from cellulose via sustainable chemistry – a tutorial review

“…30,238 Extensive investigations have confirmed that ruthenium carbon catalysts promote hydrogenation of cellulose to sorbitol and show high activity and yields due to hydrogen spillover and electron transfer effects caused by the unique surface contact between ruthenium nanoparticles and carbon-based supports. 61,109,239 Carbon can absorb more hydrogen from Ru spillover and shows excellent adsorption capacity for glucose, thus providing additional catalytic active sites over those of Ru alone. 102 The carbon-based ruthenium materials such as Ru/AC, 103 Ru/CNT 104 and Ru/AG-CNT 106 are efficient catalysts for achieving one-pot conversion of cellulose to sorbitol, possibly due to the abundance of functional groups on the surface and strong Ru–C interactions as compared with other common supports (Fig.…”

Efficient Catalytic Hydrogenation of Glucose to Sorbitol over Metallic Nickel-Rich Nickel Borides under Mild Reaction Conditions

“…Therefore, significant efforts have been dedicated to designing and developing catalysts for the green and efficient hydrogenation of glucose to sorbitol, including precious metals ( e.g. , Ru − and Pt , ) and nonprecious metals ( e.g. , Ni ,, and Cu).…”