Design of N‐Doped Carbon Materials Assisted Co−CoOx Anchoring on Mesoporous Silica Spheres Catalyst for Levulinic Acid Valorization

Abstract

The design of robust catalyst was of great significance for the valorization of biomass platforms. Herein, an efficient Co@mSiO2−CN catalyst was constructed via a simple impregnation‐mixing‐pyrolysis strategy, which could give 100 % yield of γ‐valerolactone from levulinic acid for no less than five cycles under a relatively mild reaction conditions (160 °C, 1.5 MPa H2,3 h).The results of catalyst characterizations and comparative experiments showed that the introduction of nitrogen‐doped carbon materials promoted the dispersion of Co and enhanced the Lewis acidity of the catalyst, thereby promoting the dissociation of H2 and the activation of C−O, respectively. The synergistic effect between the hydrogenation metal sites and the Lewis acidic site ensures excellent activity of the catalyst.

New Insights into N-Doped Porous Carbons as Both Heterogeneous Catalysts and Catalyst Supports: Opportunities for the Catalytic Synthesis of Valuable Compounds

“…As an example of a synthesis strategy and the application of a metal-supported N -doped carbon catalyst, Zhang et al [ 112 ] presented a simple impregnation mixing pyrolysis strategy to construct a highly efficient catalyst, Co@mSiO 2 –CN3, with improved metal dispersion and enhanced Lewis acidity, benefiting from the introduction of N -doped carbon materials, which could completely convert levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone under mild conditions. In Figure 4 , we present the schematic procedure for the preparation of the catalyst (a) and a possible reaction mechanism for the conversion of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone (b) [ 112 ].…”

“… Schematic procedure for the preparation of the catalyst Co@mSiO 2 –CN3 ( a ) and a possible reaction mechanism for the conversion of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone ( b ). Adapted from [ 112 ]. …”