Deoxydehydration of sugar alcohols derived from lignocellulosic biomass such as sorbitol and 1,4-anhydroerythritol lead to removal of vicinal hydroxy groups and potential production of dialcohols with only terminal hydroxy groups that are potential reactants for polymer production. Rhenium based catalysts supported on ceria and promoted by Palladium have recently been identified to possess high selectivity and activity for this process.  In this computational study, we identify the specific function and oxidation state of each element in this complex catalyst system, i.e., Re, Pd, and CeO2.  In addition, we identify the reaction mechanism and the reason why an aqueous solvent is detrimental for this chemistry.  Specifically, a high chemical potential of water leads to an overoxidation of the isolated Re species which renders them inactive.

Mechanistic investigation of the deoxydehydration of sugar alcohols over ReOx-Pd/CeO2 catalysts

255th National Meeting (2018)

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