SELECTIVE GLUCOSE HYDROGENOLYSIS TO PRODUCE PROPYLENE GLYCOL OVER NON-NOBLE METAL CATALYSTS

Abstract

Hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived compounds to glycols is essential for the gradual move towards a green economy. In this regard, it is of great importance to developing selective and stable catalytic systems based on non-noble metals for the mentioned reactions. In this thesis, we investigated different catalytic systems composing lanthanide oxides modified Cu/Al2O3 to get more insight into the role of the catalyst active sites in glucose hydrogenolysis to propylene glycol. We found that strong base sites play an essential role in the complex reactions of glucose hydrogenolysis. It was suggested that lanthanide-oxygen pair and Brønsted OH group coordinated with one lanthanide cation are the proper base sites for this reaction. Later, the stability of Cu-La2O3/Al2O3 during glucose hydrogenolysis was studied, and a new approach to deal with catalyst deactivation was proposed. Finally, we explored the reaction mechanism of glucose hydrogenolysis using 13C NMR analysis. These studies provided a rich insight into the development of highly stable and selective catalysts for biomass conversion, particularly those happening in hydrothermal conditions.