Aqueous-Phase Cellulose Hydrolysis over Zeolite HY Nanocrystals Grafted on Anatase Titania Nanofibers

Shan, Longlong; Yan, Jun; Wang, Yang; Ke, Xuebin; Cai, Junmeng; Yu, Shirui; Lee, Adam F.; Gu, Xiaoli; Zhang, Xingguang

Abstract

© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Acid-catalyzed aqueous-phase hydrolysis of cellulose was investigated over zeolite HY nanocrystals grafted on anantase titania nanofibres (HY-TiO2). H-exchanged NaY zeolite nanocrystals of controlled size (40–60 nm) were synthesized and deposited over TiO2 nanofibres prepared by hydrothermal treatment of anatase nanoparticles. The resulting materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, NH3-TPD and FT-IR, and evidenced a homogeneous distribution of HY nanocrystals across the TiO2 nanofibres. HY-TiO2 catalysts exhibited higher turnover numbers and selectivity to glucose than large (500 nm to 2 μm) unsupported HY nanoparticles; this performance enhancement is attributed to the greater accessibility of Brønsted acid sites in HY nanocrystals to cellulose particles. The importance of active site accessibility to β-1,4-glycosidic bond cleavage was highlighted by a significant increase in the rates of glucose and cellobiose hydrolysis (versus cellulose) over HY-TiO2-100. Engineering of zeolite particle size is a critical design parameter for the valorization of sterically-challenging cellulosic feedstocks. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Citation

Shan, L., Yan, J., Wang, Y., Ke, X., Cai, J., Yu, S., Lee, A. F., Gu, X., & Zhang, X. (2021). Aqueous-Phase Cellulose Hydrolysis over Zeolite HY Nanocrystals Grafted on Anatase Titania Nanofibers. Catalysis Letters, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-020-03402-w

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 21, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Sep 29, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 3, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 30, 2021
• Journal: Catalysis Letters
• Print ISSN: 1011-372X
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-020-03402-w
• Keywords: Cellulose; Glucose; Hydrolysis; Diffusion; Zeolite nanocrystals
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3637008