Chem Comm Inside Front Cover: Direct conversion of cellulose into ethanol catalysed by a combination of tungstic acid and zirconia-supported Pt nanoparticles

Article Link: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/cc/c9cc00619b#!divAbstract 

中文报道：X-Mol报道: https://www.x-mol.com/news/16519

     We have succeeded in the direct conversion of cellulose into ethanol by using a combination of H₂WO₄ and Pt/ZrO₂ catalysts in an aqueous medium. Our studies reveal that H₂WO₄ is responsible for the cleavage of the C–C bond, particularly the C₂–C₃ bond in the glucose unit, via retro-aldol fragmentation. Pt/ZrO₂ catalyses the hydrogenation of the C=O bond and the hydrogenolysis of the C–OH bond in C₂ intermediates into EG and ethanol. Pt nanoparticles with appropriate fractions of Pt⁰ and Pt²⁺ on ZrO₂ are crucial in the formation of ethanol by suppressing over-hydrogenolysis. Because of significant differences in boiling points, ethanol can be readily separated from the liquid byproducts by distillation. We expect that the development of more efficient catalysts can further enhance ethanol formation, making the direct conversion of cellulose into ethanol economically feasible.