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山梨醇和木糖醇等多元醇是可再生生物质转化合成液体燃料和化学品的重要平台分子,其中,可通过选择氢解反应一步制备乙二醇和丙二醇等重要化工原料,有望代替从乙烯和丙烯制备二元醇的传统石油化工工艺.目前文献中多元醇氢解反应主要使用Ru基和Ni基催化剂等,但是不可避免地生成C?C键非选择性断裂的副产物甲烷等.与之相比,非贵金属Cu基催化剂往往具有较优异的选择性,但其活性较低和水热稳定性较差.因此,到目前为止研制具有高活性和选择性、以及良好水热稳定性的Cu基催化剂用于生物质基多元醇氢解反应仍然存在挑战.在本文中,我们采用贵金属修饰的方法提高Cu基催化剂在山梨醇选择氢解反应中的活性和水热稳定性.通过分步浸渍法合成了1%Pd-3%Cu/ZrO2、1%Pt-3%Cu/ZrO2和1%Ru-3%Cu/ZrO2双金属催化剂,并比较了它们在山梨醇氢解反应中的催化性能.在相同的反应条件下,上述催化剂中1%Pd-3%Cu/ZrO2(Cu/Pd =5)具有最优的活性及乙二醇、丙二醇和甘油的总选择性.以固体碱La(OH)3为助剂,1%Pd-3%Cu/ZrO2的山梨醇氢解活性高达20.3 h-1,是单金属1%Pd/ZrO2(8.7 h-1)和3%Cu/ZrO2(6.5 h-1)催化剂活性的2-3倍,也高于含有相同Pd、Cu含量的1%Pd/ZrO2和3%Cu/ZrO2机械混合体系的活性(12.2 h-1).而且, Pd-Cu/ZrO2双金属催化剂对C2-C3低碳多元醇的选择性也明显优于Pd/ZrO2和Cu/ZrO2以及二者的机械混合体系.这些结果说明Pd对Cu/ZrO2的促进作用不仅仅需要Pd与Cu两种金属的共同存在,还需要它们两者之间的相互作用.进一步发现, Pd-Cu/ZrO2双金属催化剂在Cu/Pd比为1.5-10.0的较宽范围内都表现出了较高的反应活性(17.8-20.3 h-1)以及乙二醇、丙二醇和甘油的总选择性(57.3%-62.8%),说明较低含量Pd的存在就能够有效地改善Cu催化剂的催化性能.在493 K和5.0 MPa H2的反应条件下,以1%Pd-3%Cu/ZrO2为催化剂,在山梨醇接近完全转化时,获得了61.7%的乙二醇、丙二醇和甘油的总选择性.同时, Pd的加入还能有效地抑制水热反应条件下Cu粒子的团聚,使得Pd-Cu/ZrO2催化剂在山梨醇氢解反应中具有优良的水热稳定性和循环使用性能.在5次循环实验中1%Pd-3%Cu/ZrO2的活性和选择性基本保持不变； X-射线粉末衍射结果表明,反应后的催化剂上未观察到Cu的特征衍射峰, Cu粒子仍然保持良好的分散状态.而对于没有Pd修饰的单金属3%Cu/ZrO2催化剂,经5次循环使用后山梨醇氢解反应的活性则下降了42%；在循环反应中Cu粒子显著地聚集而长大到~30 nm. CO吸附漫反射红外光谱结果揭示了Cu粒子倾向于在Pd粒子表面沉积,随着Cu/Pd原子比的增大, Cu粒子逐渐稀释并覆盖Pd的表面位点,说明Pd与Cu粒子之间存在紧密的接触.氢气程序升温还原结果表明,可能与氢溢流有关, Pd的加入促进了CuO的还原.然而,不同于Pd/ZrO2和Cu/ZrO2机械混合样品的TPR图谱,其显示PdO和CuO各自的还原峰, Pd-Cu双金属催化剂则只存在一个宽化的还原峰,这说明了Pd-Cu之间结构上的紧密接触使得两种金属之间存在强相互作用,其中可能存在从Pd向Cu的电子转移.综合这些结构和电子效应,可以推测Pd的存在促进了Cu粒子对山梨醇的脱氢能力和不饱和中间体的加氢能力,进而提高了Cu基催化剂在山梨醇氢解反应中的活性及目标产物的选择性.同时Pd-Cu之间的强相互作用和氢溢流效应抑制了Cu粒子在水热反应条件下的聚集,提高了催化剂的稳定性.这些结果和认识有助于指导人们为多元醇氢解和其它生物质基化学品的转化反应设计具有更高效率和水热稳定性的新型Cu基催化剂.

Sorbitol is one of the key building blocks in catalytic conversion of biomass, and its selective hydro-genolysis to ethylene glycol and propylene glycol provides a viable and sustainable route towards the synthesis of the two glycols. Herein, the hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived sorbitol was studied on Pd-modified Cu/monoclinic zirconia (Pd-Cu/ZrO2) catalysts with a wide range of Cu/Pd atomic ratios in the presence of La(OH)3. The bimetallic Pd-Cu/ZrO2 catalysts showed superior activities and selectivities to the two target glycols, compared with the monometallic Cu/ZrO2 and Pd/ZrO2 catalysts under identical conditions. At nearly 100%sorbitol conversion, a combined selectivity of 61.7%to ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and glycerol was obtained on Pd-Cu/ZrO2 (Cu/Pd=5) at 493 K under 5.0 MPa H2. Pd-Cu/ZrO2 was also stable and recyclable, in contrast to Cu/ZrO2, which suffered severe deactivation because of agglomeration of Cu particles during sorbitol hydrogenoly-sis. Clearly, the presence of Pd improved not only the activity and selectivity of the Cu catalyst, but also the hydrothermal stability. Characterization of these catalysts by X-ray diffraction, dif-fuse-reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy of CO adsorption, and H2 tempera-ture-programmed reduction suggests that the Cu particles deposited on the Pd surfaces with close contact and strong interaction between the two metals, most likely involving electron transfer from Pd to Cu. Such structural and electronic effects are proposed as the critical contributors to the sig-nificant promoting effect of Pd on the activity and stability of Pd-Cu catalysts in sorbitol hydrogen-olysis. These findings provide useful information for design of new Cu-based catalysts with higher efficiency and stability for selective hydrogenolysis of polyols and other biomass-derived reactants under hydrothermal conditions.