Superhydrophilic mesoporous sulfonated melamine-formaldehyde resin supported palladium nanoparticles as an efficient catalyst for biofuel upgrade

Mesoporous sulfonated melamine-formaldehyde resin (MSMF) has been successfully synthesized from the self-assembly of a copolymer surfactant (F127) with a mixture of melamine, formaldehyde and NaHSO3 in an aqueous solution. After removal of the copolymer surfactant (F127) by ethanol extraction, the MSMF exhibits uniform mesopore sizes centered at 10.2 nm. The contact angle (0 degrees) of water on the sample shows that the MSMF is superhydrophilic. After impregnating with a Pd species, a MSMF supported Pd catalyst (Pd/MSMF) is obtained, which shows high activity and excellent recyclability in an important model reaction for biofuel upgrade (hydrodeoxygenation of vanillin), compared with a conventional carbon supported Pd catalyst (Pd/C). The superior catalytic properties of the Pd/MSMF catalyst should be potentially important for biofuel upgrades in the future.