Facile Fabrication of Composition-Tuned Ru-Ni Bimetallics in Ordered Mesoporous Carbon for Levulinic Acid Hydrogenation

Journal Article · Thu Feb 04 00:00:00 EST 2016 · ACS Catal.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/cs401030u· OSTI ID:1129234

Yang, Ying; Gao, Guang; Zhang, Xin; Li, Fuwei ^[1]

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1. ChinaU - Petroleum

Bimetallic catalysts are of great importance due to their unique catalytic properties. However, their conventional synthesis requires tedious multistep procedures and prolonged synthetic time, and the resulting bimetallics usually disperse unevenly and show poor stability. It is challenging to develop a facile and step-economic synthetic methodology for highly efficient bimetallic catalysts. In this study, we report an elegant metal complex-involved multicomponent assembly route to highly efficient Ru–Ni bimetallics in ordered mesoporous carbons (OMC). The fabrication of composition-tuned Ru–Ni bimetallics in OMC (Ru_xNi_1–x–OMC, x = 0.5–0.9) was facilely realized via in situ construction of CTAB-directed cubic Ia3d chitosan-ruthenium–nickel–silica mesophase before pyrolysis and silica removal. The resulting Ru_xNi_1–x–OMC materials are in-depth characterized with X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption–desorption, transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectrum, and X-ray absorption fine structure. This facile fabrication method renders homogeneously dispersed Ru–Ni bimetallics embedded in the mesoporous carbonaceous framework and creates a highly active and stable Ru_0.9Ni_0.1–OMC catalyst for the hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) to prepare γ-valerolactone (GVL), a biomass-derived platform molecule with wide application in the preparation of renewable chemicals and liquid transportation fuels. A high TOF (>2000 h^–1) was obtained, and the Ru_0.9Ni_0.1–OMC catalyst could be used at least 15 times without obvious loss of its catalytic performance.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
• Sponsoring Organization: FOREIGN
• OSTI ID: 1129234
• Journal Information: ACS Catal., Vol. 4, Issue (5) ; 05, 2014
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: ENGLISH