Biomass is a promising renewable source of organic molecules for the manufacture of bulk, fine and speciality chemicals necessary to reduce the dependence on petrochemicals. Methods to selectively deoxygenate and/or isomerise bio-derived molecules are thus critical to the development of catalytic processes for their utilisation. Solid acid catalysts with tuneable acid strength and bi-functional catalytic properties will play an important role in the selective conversion of such bio-derived molecules to platform chemicals and fuels.The amphoteric properties of zirconia make it an attractive catalytic material to employ as a bi-functional catalyst for biomass conversion, with judicious control over sulfate loading enabling systematic control over the Lewis�Br�nsted acid and base properties of SO4/ZrO2. Here we report on the application of such SO4/ZrO2 catalysts with tunable acid-base properties for the conversion of bio-based molecules including sugars, fatty acids and terpenes [1]. Bi-functional solid acid-base catalysts are attractive to facilitate efficient direct conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF); a valuable chemical intermediate for the production of linear alkanes for diesel and jet fuels, and building blocks for the synthesis of diverse solvents, polymers and plastics. Zirconia doped with sub-monolayer SO4 coverages offers the ideal balance of basic and Lewis/Br�nsted acid sites required to respectively isomerise glucose to fructose, and subsequently dehydrate fructose to 5-HMF. The design of such bi-functional catalysts capable of effecting one-pot telescopic syntheses in aqueous media will become increasingly critical to achieve atom-economical, selective transformations of bio-derived molecules for sustainable chemicals and fuels [2].[1] Ecormier M A, Wilson K and Lee A F, Journal of Catalysis, 2003, 215, 57.[2] Osatiashtiani A, Lee AF, Brown DR, Melero JA, Morales G and Wilson K, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2014,4, 333.

Tuning sulfated zirconia for the selective conversion of bioderived molecules

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.