Conversion of biomass to ?-valerolactone by efficient transfer hydrogenation of ethyl levulinate over Al-SPAN nanosheets

It is a green and environment-friendly strategy to use biomass to assist the synthesis of catalysts and use the prepared catalysts for biomass utilization. In this study, aluminum-rich silicon-phosphorus-aluminum nanosheet (Al-SPAN) was synthesized with biomass amino acids as additives for catalytic transfer hydrogenation of ethyl levulinate to gamma-valerolactone. Compared with commercial Al2O3, Al-SPAN showed greatly improved catalytic performance for the reaction. The conversion of ethyl levulinate was increased by 47 % and the yield of gamma-valerolactone was increased by 52 %. The effects of different alcohol on the reaction properties were inves-tigated, with isopropanol used as a safe and efficient hydrogen source. The catalyst has good stability with little change in reaction performance after five cycles.

Automated summary

It is a green and environment-friendly strategy to use biomass to assist the synthesis of catalysts for biomass utilization. In this study, aluminum-rich silicon-phosphorus-aluminum nanosheet (Al-SPAN) was synthesized with biomass amino acids as additives for catalytic transfer hydrogenation. Al-SPAN showed greatly improved catalytic performances compared to commercial Al2O3. Different alcohols were investigated, with isopropanol being a safe and efficient hydrogen source. The catalyst exhibited good stability with little change in reaction performance after five cycles.