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Engineering Catalyst Microenvironments for Metal‐Catalyzed Hydrogenation of Biologically Derived Platform Chemicals
Author(s) -
Schwartz Thomas J.,
Johnson Robert L.,
Cardenas Javier,
Okerlund Adam,
Da Silva Nancy A.,
SchmidtRohr Klaus,
Dumesic James A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201407615
Subject(s) - catalysis , bimetallic strip , chemistry , synergistic catalysis , nanoparticle , organic chemistry , decomposition , sulfur , noble metal , metal , ruthenium , lactic acid , palladium , materials science , bacteria , nanotechnology , biology , genetics
It is shown that microenvironments formed around catalytically active sites mitigate catalyst deactivation by biogenic impurities that are present during the production of biorenewable chemicals from biologically derived species. Palladium and ruthenium catalysts are inhibited by the presence of sulfur‐containing amino acids; however, these supported metal catalysts are stabilized by overcoating with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), which creates a microenvironment unfavorable for biogenic impurities. Moreover, deactivation of Pd catalysts by carbon deposition from the decomposition of highly reactive species is suppressed by the formation of bimetallic PdAu nanoparticles. Thus, a PVA‐overcoated PdAu catalyst was an order of magnitude more stable than a simple Pd catalyst in the hydrogenation of triacetic acid lactone, which is the first step in the production of biobased sorbic acid. A PVA‐overcoated Ru catalyst showed a similar improvement in stability during lactic acid hydrogenation to propylene glycol in the presence of methionine.