Semihydrogenation of acetylene in an ethylene-rich stream is an industrially important process. Conventional supported monometallic Pd catalysts offer high acetylene conversion, but they suffer from very low selectivity to ethylene due to overhydrogenation and the formation of carbonaceous deposits. Herein, a series of Ag alloyed Pd single-atom catalysts, possessing only ppm levels of Pd, supported on silica gel were prepared by a simple incipient wetness coimpregnation method and applied to the selective hydrogenation of acetylene in an ethylene-rich stream under conditions close to the front-end employed by industry. High acetylene conversion and simultaneous selectivity to ethylene was attained over a wide temperature window, surpassing an analogous Au alloyed Pd single-atom system we previously reported. Restructuring of AgPd nanoparticles and electron transfer from Ag to Pd were evidenced by in situ FTIR and in situ XPS as a function of increasing reduction temperature. Microcalorimetry and XANES measurements support both geometric and electronic synergetic effects between the alloyed Pd and Ag. Kinetic studies provide valuable insight into the nature of the active sites within these AgPd/SiO2 catalysts, and hence, they provide evidence for the key factors underpinning the excellent performance of these bimetallic catalysts toward the selective hydrogenation of acetylene under ethylene-rich conditions while minimizing precious metal usage.

A temperature-controlled phase-transfer catalyst-tungsten acid, which in combination with a robust heterogeneous catalyst Ru/C shows a high activity and exceptional reusability for the one-pot conversion of cellulose to ethylene glycol. This binary system can be reused more than 20 times with ethylene glycol yield over 50%.The efficient utilization of biomass for the sustainable production of energy and chemicals is an important way towards both decreasing the dependence on fossil resources and reducing CO 2 emissions. Cellulose is the most abundant biomass on earth, and its non-food nature and rich hydroxyl groups in its molecules make it an ideal feedstock for the production of polyols.

Following our previous report on the selective transformation of cellulose to ethylene glycol (EG) over a binary catalyst composed of tungstic acid and Ru/C, we herein report a new low‐cost but more effective binary catalyst by using Raney nickel in place of Ru/C (Raney Ni+H2WO4). In addition to tungstic acid, other W compounds were also investigated in combination with Raney Ni. The results showed that the EG yield depended on the W compound: H4SiW12O40<H3PW12O40<WO3<H2WO4, but all the investigated W compounds were selective towards EG. Moreover, both WO3 and H2WO4 were dissolved partially under the reaction conditions and transformed into HxWO3, which is the genuinely active species for the CC bond breakage of cellulose. This result further confirmed that the reaction that involves the selective breakage of the CC bonds of cellulose with W species is homogenous. Among various binary catalysts, the combination of Raney Ni and H2WO4 gave the highest yield of EG (65 %), which could be attributed to the high activity of Raney Ni for hydrogenation and its inertness for the further degradation of EG. Moreover, Raney Ni+H2WO4 showed good reusability; it could be reused at least 17 times without any decay in the EG yield, which shows its great potential for industrial applications.

The kinetics of glucose conversion to ethylene glycol (EG) in the presence of ammonium paratungstate and Ru/AC catalysts was studied to model and predict the reaction performance under a range of conditions. A mathematical model was established through the rational simplification of the reaction network on the basis of a continuous stirred‐tank model. The kinetic data of six major reactions in the network were experimentally measured, and the analytical expressions of overall reaction kinetics were obtained by introducing the kinetic data to the model. Yields of EG, hexitols and gas were described as functions of the reaction temperature, the concentration of glucose in the feedstock and the feeding rate. The simulation results matched the experimental data of glucose conversion, demonstrating the validity of the model and method for studying the overall kinetics of glucose conversion to EG over W‐Ru catalysts. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 2072–2080, 2017

A label-free biosensor based on graphene oxide (GO) and glucose oxidase (GOD) functionalized tilted fiber grating (TFG) with large tilted angle is proposed for low concentration glucose detection. Taking advantages of sufficient binding sites of the GO with oxygen-containing groups, the enzymes (GOD) are covalently immobilized onto GO-deposited TFG via 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide and N-hydroxyl succinimide cross-liner. Surface characterizations with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman and infrared spectroscopy provide detailed assessments and evidences about the homogeneity of GO deposition and the effectiveness of enzyme modification. Through the specific catalysis reaction of GOD on the glucose, a considerable refractive index change in local microenvironment around the TFG results in the resonant wavelength shifts of cladding modes. The detection results of the low-concentration glucose demonstrate that the resonant wavelength has a linear response to the glucose concentration in the range of 0~8mM with a response coefficient of ~0.24 nm/mM, showing an enhanced sensitivity and bio-selectivity compared with the pristine TFG. The miniaturized size and remote label-free sensing capacity of the proposed device permit a multitude of opportunities for single-point measurement in harsh conditions and hard-to-reach spaces, presenting a promising candidate for label-free glucose detection for disease diagnosis, pharmaceutical research and bioengineering applications.

High activity magnetic core-mesoporous shell sulfonic acid silica nanoparticles for carboxylic acid esterification. The address for the corresponding author was captured as affiliation for all authors. Please check if appropriate. Catcom(2017),

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This chapter provides a general overview of recent studies on catalytic conversion of fructose, glucose, and cellulose to platform chemicals over porous solid acid and base catalysts, including zeolites, ion-exchange resins, heteropoly acids, as well as structured carbon, silica, and metal oxide materials. Attention is focused on the dehydration of glucose and fructose to HMF, isomerization of glucose to fructose, hydrolysis of cellulose to sugar, and glycosidation of cellulose to alkyl glucosides. The correlation of porous structure, surface properties, and the strength or types of acid or base with the catalyst activity in these reactions is discussed in detail in this chapter.