Zr-SBA-15 Lewis Acid Catalyst: Activity in Meerwein Ponndorf Verley Reduction

Abstract

Zr-SBA-15 Lewis acid catalyst has demonstrated an outstanding catalytic activity in the reduction of several carbonyl compounds by means of Meerwein Ponndorf Verley (MPV) reaction, using several secondary alcohols, and showing a very high selectivity towards the desired products. Special focus was addressed in the catalytic activity of Zr-SBA-15 material in the production of furfuryl alcohol from furfural, which is an important reaction for the lignocellulosic biomass valorization. In this transformation, both the reaction temperature and the i-PrOH:Furfural molar ratio exert a positive influence on the rate of the MPV transformation, with the influence of the former being much higher.i-propyl-furfuryl ether, a by-product resulting from the etherification of the target product with the sacrificing alcohol, is also found together with the main product. The production of this side-product is highly influenced by the reaction temperature, so that low temperatures and high sacrificing alcohol to substrate molar ratios have to be applied to keep its production at low levels.

Recent advances in the production of γ‐valerolactone from biomass‐derived feedstocks via heterogeneous catalytic transfer hydrogenation

“…The performance of highly dispersed Zr on silica supports has also been explored by many researchers . Iglesias et al .…”

“…The performance of highly dispersed Zr on silica supports has also been explored by many researchers. 48 -50 Iglesias et al prepared a high surface area (553 m 2 g −1 ) mesoporous Zr-SBA-15 material with 8.3 wt% Zr loading and employed it in CTH of EL with 2-propanol at 110 ∘ C resulting in 42% GVL yield. 48 Kuwahara and co-workers synthesised a series of SBA-15 supported ZrO 2 catalysts with ZrO 2 loading ranging from 10 to 60 wt% and tested them in CTH of methyl levulinate (ML) to GVL at 150 ∘ C and 10 bar Ar pressure.…”

“…48 -50 Iglesias et al prepared a high surface area (553 m 2 g −1 ) mesoporous Zr-SBA-15 material with 8.3 wt% Zr loading and employed it in CTH of EL with 2-propanol at 110 ∘ C resulting in 42% GVL yield. 48 Kuwahara and co-workers synthesised a series of SBA-15 supported ZrO 2 catalysts with ZrO 2 loading ranging from 10 to 60 wt% and tested them in CTH of methyl levulinate (ML) to GVL at 150 ∘ C and 10 bar Ar pressure. 49 For the same mass of ZrO 2 , the catalytic performance in terms of ML conversion and GVL yield improved with decreasing ZrO 2 loading of the catalysts.…”

Vapor Phase Selective Production of Ethyl Lactate over ZrO2‐SiO2 Catalysts Using Lactic Acid and Ethanol

“…Silica based catalysts have good thermal stability and hydrophobic in nature, and the Zirconia based catalysts were reported in dehydration of lactic acid, 2, 3 butanediol and transfer hydrogenation reactions . Combining the catalytic properties of above two oxides, ZrO 2 incorporated silica catalysts would be expected to have optimum acidic properties depending upon the composition and have been reported for various applications including transfer hydrogenation, dehydration and transesterification . Therefore, we attempted to use these mixed oxide catalysts to aim at the synthesis of ethyl lactate, supported by various catalyst characterizations in vapor phase.…”

Catalytic Conversion of Biomass

“…Pizzi et al provided a nice approach towards high throughput screening of a range of heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion of furfural to bio-based fuel components [4] in a similar way to the approach proposed by Iglesias et al for the conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol via Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction using Zr-SBA-15 [5], while valuable jet-fuel range hydrocarbons could also be produced from biomass-derived sorbitol using Ni-HZSM-5/SBA-15 catalysts [6]. Such biomass-engineered products have a significant potential to replace current petroleum-derived analogues with improved biocompatibility and a reduced environmental footprint.…”