title: Porous Zirconium-Phytic Acid Hybrid: a Highly Efficient Catalyst for Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley Reductions.
abstract: The utilization of compounds from natural sources to prepare functional materials is of great importance. Herein, we describe for the first time the preparation of organic-inorganic hybrid catalysts by using natural phytic acid as building block. Zirconium phosphonate (Zr-PhyA) was synthesized by reaction of phytic acid and ZrCl4 and was obtained as a mesoporous material with pore sizes centered around 8.5 nm. Zr-PhyA was used to catalyze the mild and selective Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reduction of various carbonyl compounds, e.g., of levulinic acid and its esters into γ-valerolactone. Further studies indicated that both Zr and phosphate groups contribute significantly to the excellent performance of Zr-PhyA.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China). songjl@iccas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jinliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China).
authors.forename: Baowen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China).
authors.forename: Huacong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China).
authors.forename: Lingqiao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China).
authors.forename: Qinglei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China).
authors.forename: Zhimin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China). hanbx@iccas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Buxing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
keywords: Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction; natural resources; phytic acid; porous materials; zirconium phosphonate