title: Acid-functionalized mesoporous carbon: an efficient support for ruthenium-catalyzed γ-valerolactone production.
abstract: The hydrogenation of levulinic acid has been studied using Ru supported on ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) prepared by soft-templating. P- and S-containing acid groups were introduced by postsynthetic functionalization before the addition of 1 % Ru by incipient wetness impregnation. These functionalities and the reaction conditions mediate the activity and selectivity of the levulinic acid hydrogenation. The presence of S-containing groups (Ru/OMC-S and Ru/OMC-P/S) deactivates the Ru catalysts strongly, whereas the presence of P-containing groups (Ru/OMC-P) enhances the activity compared to that of pristine Ru/OMC. Under mild conditions (70 °C and 7 bar H2 ) the catalyst shows high selectivity to γ-valerolactone (GVL; >95 %) and high stability on recycling. However, under more severe conditions (200 °C and p H 2=40 bar) Ru/OMC-P is particularly able to promote GVL ring-opening and the consecutive hydrogenation to pentanoic acid.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Milano via Golgi 19, 20133 Milano (Italy).
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Milano via Golgi 19, 20133 Milano (Italy).
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schiavoni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Milano via Golgi 19, 20133 Milano (Italy).
authors.forename: Carine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Chan-Thaw
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831 (USA).|Department of Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, PR 00931 (USA).
authors.forename: Pasquale F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Fulvio
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, PR 00931 (USA).
authors.forename: Richard T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Mayes
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831 (USA).|Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996 (USA).
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (USA).
authors.forename: Karren L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: More
authors.affiliation: Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (USA).
authors.forename: Gabriel M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Veith
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Milano via Golgi 19, 20133 Milano (Italy). laura.prati@unimi.it.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prati
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D006865:Hydrogenation; D007783:Lactones / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D007982:Levulinic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D012428:Ruthenium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007783:Lactones; D007982:Levulinic Acids; D002244:Carbon; D012428:Ruthenium; C037556:gamma-valerolactone; C032246:levulinic acid
keywords: carbon; hydrogenation; mesoporous materials; ruthenium; supported catalysts