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Water‐Promoted Hydrogenation of Levulinic Acid to γ‐Valerolactone on Supported Ruthenium Catalyst
Author(s) -
Tan Jingjing,
Cui Jinglei,
Deng Tiansheng,
Cui Xiaojing,
Ding Guoqiang,
Zhu Yulei,
Li Yongwang
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemcatchem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1867-3899
pISSN - 1867-3880
DOI - 10.1002/cctc.201402834
Subject(s) - levulinic acid , catalysis , ruthenium , chemistry , yield (engineering) , aqueous solution , solvent , organic chemistry , nuclear chemistry , materials science , metallurgy
A highly efficient and green process for the hydrogenation of biomass‐derived levulinic acid (LA) to γ‐valerolactone (GVL) has been developed. GVL was obtained in a yield of 99.9 mol % with a turnover frequency as high as 7676 h −1 in aqueous medium by using a Ru/TiO 2 catalyst under mild reaction conditions (70 °C). The strong interaction between Ru and TiO 2 facilitated both the dispersion of Ru nanoparticles and the stability of the catalyst. In addition, as solvent, water participated in the hydrogenation of LA, which was confirmed by an isotope‐ labeling experiment with D (D 2 O). Specifically, the H atom(s) in water took part in the hydrogenation of the CO group of LA, which promoted the catalytic activity and GVL yield remarkably.