Microwave-assisted base-free oxidation of glucose on gold nanoparticle catalysts

Glucaric Acid Production from Miscanthus sacchariflorus via TEMPO-Mediated Oxidation with an Efficient Separation System

In this study, production and isolation of glucaric acid from lignocellulosic biomass were performed via potassium cation-based TEMPO-mediated oxidation for the ease of glucaric acid isolation. To optimize the oxidation conditions, response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted using standard glucose as the raw material. Among the oxidation conditions, the dosage of oxidant and pH of reaction affected the glucaric acid production, and the optimum conditions were suggested by RSM analysis: 5 °C of reaction temperature, 4.23 equiv dosage of KClO per mole of glucose, and pH of 12. Furthermore, glucaric acid was produced from lignocellulosic biomass-derived enzymatic hydrolysate from Miscanthus under optimum conditions. The impurities such as xylose and lignin in enzymatic hydrolysate inhibited the efficiency of glucose oxidation. As a result, more oxidant was required to produce sufficient glucaric acid from the enzymatic hydrolysate compared to standard glucose. The produced glucaric acid was simply isolated by controlling the pH in the form of glucaric acid monopotassium salt, which showed lower solubility in water, and the purity of isolated glucaric acid was over 99%. The overall mass balance of feedstock to glucaric acid was analyzed, suggesting that 86.38% (w/w) glucaric acid could be produced from initial glucan in feedstock.

Microwave-Assisted Base-Free Oxidation of Glucose with H2O2 on Gold- and Manganese-Containing SBA-15-Insight into Factors Affecting the Reaction Pathway

The aim of this work was to gain insights into the role of manganese in MnSBA-15 support for gold in the base-free glucose oxidation with H₂O₂ using a microwave reactor. MnSBA-15 (manganese-acidity source) and SBA-15 (for comparison) were modified with Au (2.2 wt. %) and Cu (for comparison). The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were investigated by XRD, N₂ ads/des, TEM, UV-vis, XPS, pyridine adsorption combined with FTIR, ATR-FTIR, and 2-propanol decomposition. The effects of the Mn presence in the support, Au NPs size that determines the number of active Au centers, and the Fermi energy (E_F), together with the effects of the pore size, reaction temperature, and time on the activity and selectivity of the applied catalysts were assessed and discussed. It has been demonstrated that the presence of Mn generated Lewis acid centers which did not participate in glucose and H₂O₂ adsorption, and thus, were not directly involved in the reaction pathway. Both reagents were adsorbed on gold nanoparticles. H₂O₂ was decomposed to molecular oxygen which oxidized glucose to gluconic acid (50-90% of glucose conversion depending on the reaction time and ~100% selectivity). The presence of manganese in MnSBA-15 was responsible for increased Au NPs size and only slightly influenced the negative charge on gold particles. To achieve effective activity a compromise between the number of active gold species and the level of E_F has to be reached (for 5.7 nm Au NPs).

Low-energy hemiacetal dehydrogenation pathway：co-production of gluconic acid and green hydrogen via glucose dehydrogenation

Exploring low-energy reaction pathway of catalytic biomass conversion can lead to wider application and the achievement of sustainability objectives. Since glucose dehydrogenation to gluconic acid and H 2 is a cost-effective alternative to glucose oxidation, this study aims to elucidate its mechanism. The detection of lactone as an intermediate indicates that cyclic glucose reacts directly via its hemiacetal group-ring opening is not involved; that is, cyclic glucose is dehydrogenated to lactone, which is further hydrolyzed to gluconic acid. The source of hydrogen is confirmed to be glucose and water by Isotope tracing confirms. Density function theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that Hemiacetal Dehydrogenation Pathway (this work) is less energy intensive than Ring-opening Oxidation Pathway (previous works). This study provides a new dehydrogenation strategy to produce gluconic acid and H 2 from biomass under mild conditions.

Modification of Gold Zeolitic Supports for Catalytic Oxidation of Glucose to Gluconic Acid

Activity of gold supported catalysts strongly depends on the type and composition of support, which determine the size of Au nanoparticles (Au NPs), gold-support interaction influencing gold properties, interaction with the reactants and, in this way, the reaction pathway. The aim of this study was to use two types of zeolites: the three dimensional HBeta and the layered two-dimensional MCM-36 as supports for gold, and modification of their properties towards the achievement of different properties in oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid with molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. Such an approach allowed establishment of relationships between the activity of gold catalysts and different parameters such as Au NPs size, electronic properties of gold, structure and acidity of the supports. The zeolites were modified with (3-aminopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (APMS), which affected the support features and Au NPs properties. Moreover, the modification of the zeolite lattice with boron was applied to change the strength of the zeolite acidity. All modifications resulted in changes in glucose conversion, while maintaining high selectivity to gluconic acid. The most important findings include the differences in the reaction steps limiting the reaction rate depending on the nature of the oxidant applied (oxygen vs. H₂O₂), the important role of porosity of the zeolite supports, and accumulation of negative charge on Au NPs in catalytic oxidation of glucose.

A Nanomedicine Fabricated from Gold Nanoparticles-Decorated Metal-Organic Framework for Cascade Chemo/Chemodynamic Cancer Therapy

The incorporation of new modalities into chemotherapy greatly enhances the anticancer efficacy combining the merits of each treatment, showing promising potentials in clinical translations. Herein, a hybrid nanomedicine (Au/FeMOF@CPT NPs) is fabricated using metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as building blocks for cancer chemo/chemodynamic therapy. MOF NPs are used as vehicles to encapsulate camptothecin (CPT), and the hybridization by Au NPs greatly improves the stability of the nanomedicine in a physiological environment. Triggered by the high concentration of phosphate inside the cancer cells, Au/FeMOF@CPT NPs effectively collapse after internalization, resulting in the complete drug release and activation of the cascade catalytic reactions. The intracellular glucose can be oxidized by Au NPs to produce hydrogen dioxide, which is further utilized as chemical fuel for the Fenton reaction, thus realizing the synergistic anticancer efficacy. Benefitting from the enhanced permeability and retention effect and sophisticated fabrications, the blood circulation time and tumor accumulation of Au/FeMOF@CPT NPs are significantly increased. In vivo results demonstrate that the combination of chemotherapy and chemodynamic therapy effectively suppresses the tumor growth, meantime the systemic toxicity of this nanomedicine is greatly avoided.

A hybrid composite of hydroxyapatite and Ca-Al layered double hydroxide supported Au nanoparticles for highly efficient base-free aerobic oxidation of glucose

In this work, a new hybrid composite of hydroxyapatite and Ca-Al layered double hydroxide (HAP-LDH) was successfully assembled via an in situ growth route, by which large quantities of small needle-like HAP crystals in situ grew over the lateral surface of large platelet-like CaAl-LDH particles, and applied to immobilize Au nanoparticles for base-free aerobic glucose oxidation in water to produce gluconic acid using molecular oxygen. A combination of characterization techniques and catalytic experiments revealed that the activity of supported Au catalysts was strongly associated with the composition of supports, and the hybrid HAP-LDH supported one with a Au loading amount of about 0.2 wt% delivered a high gluconic acid yield of >98% under optimal reaction conditions, along with a quite high turnover frequency value of ∼20 225 h-1. High efficiency of the as-formed Au/HAP-LDH was mainly ascribed to cooperation between favorable surface Au species (Au0/Auδ+) and abundant basic sites. Furthermore, the present catalyst also presented good structural stability, because of the novel hybrid three-dimensional nano/microstructure of the HAP-LDH composite support facilitating the stabilization of active Au species and components of the support. The present synthesis strategy of employing a hybrid composite support provides a new way to design stable and high-performance supported metal nanocatalysts for a variety of advanced heterogeneous catalytic processes.

Immobilization of Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles on Various Ceria-Based Oxides: Influence of the Protecting Agent on the Glucose Oxidation Reaction

The influence of the protecting agent’s nature on gold particle size and dispersion was studied in this work over a series of gold-based catalysts. CO and glucose oxidation were chosen as catalytic reactions to determine the catalyst’s structure–activity relationship. The nature of the support appeared to be the predominant factor for the increase in activity, as the oxygen mobility was decisive for the CO oxidation in the same way that the Lewis acidity was decisive for the glucose oxidation. For the same catalyst composition, the use of montmorillonite as the stabilizing agent resulted in better catalytic performance.

Nanostructured Metal Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation and Oxidation of Cellulosic Biomass to Chemicals

Conversion of biomass to chemicals provides essential products to human society from renewable resources. In this context, achieving atom-economical and energy-efficient conversion with high selectivity towards target products remains a key challenge. Recent developments in nanostructured catalysts address this challenge reporting remarkable performances in shape and morphology dependent catalysis by metals on nano scale in energy and environmental applications. In this review, most recent advances in synthesis of heterogeneous nanomaterials, surface characterization and catalytic performances for hydrogenation and oxidation for biorenewables with plausible mechanism have been discussed. The perspectives obtained from this review paper will provide insights into rational design of active, selective and stable catalytic materials for sustainable production of value-added chemicals from biomass resources.

Microwaves in the Catalytic Valorisation of Biomass Derivatives

The application of microwave irradiation in the transformation of biomass has been receiving particular interest in recent years due to the use of polar media in such processes and it is now well-known that for biomass conversion, and particularly for lignocellulose hydrolysis, microwave irradiation can dramatically increase reaction rates with no negative consequences on product selectivity. However, it is only in the last ten years that the utilisation of microwaves has been coupled with catalysis aiming towards valorising biomass components or their derivatives via a range of reactions where high selectivity is required in addition to enhanced conversions. The reduced reaction times and superior yields are particularly attractive as they might facilitate the transition towards flow reactors and intensified production. As a consequence, several reports now describe the catalytic transformation of biomass derivatives via hydrogenation, oxidation, dehydration, esterification and transesterification using microwaves. Clearly, this technology has a huge potential for biomass conversion towards chemicals and fuels and will be an important tool within the biorefinery toolkit. The aim of this chapter is to give the reader an overview of the exciting scientific work carried out to date where microwave reactors and catalysis are combined in the transformation of biomass and its derivatives to higher value molecules and products.

Catalytic oxidation of carbohydrates into organic acids and furan chemicals

A review on the development of new routes for the production of organic acids and furan compoundsviacatalytic oxidation reactions.