The aerobic oxidation of glycerol provides an economically viable route to glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone and glyceric acid with versatile applications, for which monometallic Pt, Au and Pd and bimetallic Au-Pt, Au- Pd and Pt-Pd catalysts on TiO2 were examined under base-free conditions. Pt exhibited a superior activity relative to Pd, and Au-Pd and Pt-Pd while Au was essentially inactive. The presence of Au on the Au-Pt/TiO2 catalysts led to their higher activities （normalized per Pt atom） in a wide range of Au/Pt atomic ratios （i.e. 1/3-7/1 ）, and the one with the Au/Pt ratio of 3/1 exhibited the highest activity. Such promoting effect is ascribed to the increased electron density on Pt via the electron transfer from Au to Pt, as characterized by the temperature-programmed desorption of CO and infra-red spectroscopy for CO adsorption. Meanwhile, the presence of Au on Au-Pt/TiO2, most like due to the observed electron transfer, changed the product selectivity, and facilitated the oxidation of the secondary hydroxyl groups in glycerol, leading to the favorable formation of dihydroxyacetone over glyceraldehyde and glyceric acid that were derived from the oxidation of the primary hydroxyl groups. The synergetic effect between Au and Pt demonstrates the feasibility in the efficient oxidation of glycerol to the targeted products, for example, by rational tuning of the electronic properties of metal catalysts.
2,5-Furandicarboxylic(FDCA) is a potential substitute for petroleum-derived terephthalic acid, and aerobic oxidation of5-hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF) provides an efficient route to synthesis of FDCA. On an activated carbon supported ruthenium(Ru/C) catalyst(with 5 wt% Ru loading), HMF was readily oxidized to FDCA in a high yield of 97.3% at 383 K and 1.0 MPa O_2 in the presence of Mg(OH)_2 as base additive. Ru/C was superior to Pt/C and Pd/C and also other supported Ru catalysts with similar sizes of metal nanoparticles(1–2 nm). The Ru/C catalysts were stable and recyclable, and their efficiency in the formation of FDCA increased with Ru loadings examined in the range of 0.5 wt%–5.0 wt%. Based on the kinetic studies including the effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, O_2 pressure, on the oxidation of HMF to FDCA on Ru/C, it was confirmed that the oxidation of HMF to FDCA proceeds involving the primary oxidation of HMF to 2,5-diformylfuran(DFF) intermediate, and its sequential oxidation to 5-formyl-2-furancarboxylic acid(FFCA) and ultimately to FDCA, in which the oxidation of FFCA to FDCA is the rate-determining step and dictates the overall formation rate of FDCA. This study provides directions towards efficient synthesis of FDCA from HMF, for example, by designing novel catalysts more efficient for the involved oxidation step of FFCA to FDCA.
Lufan ZhengJunqi ZhaoZexue DuBaoning ZongHaichao Liu
