Issue 10, 2021, Issue in Progress

Improving the hydrothermal stability of zeolite Y by La3+ cation exchange as a catalyst for the aqueous-phase hydrogenation of levulinic acid

Abstract

La3+ cation exchange is shown to improve the hydrothermal stability and catalytic activity of bifunctional zeolite Pt/Y catalysts in the aqueous-phase hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) with formic acid (FA) as hydrogen source. La3+ cation exchange of zeolite Y (nSi/nAl = 16) was conducted both in aqueous solution and in the solid state. The hydrothermal stability of La3+-containing zeolite Y probed by exposure to the reaction mixture (0.2 mol L−1 LA, 0.6 mol L−1 FA) at 473 K under autogenous pressure for 24 h improves with increasing La content. The material exhibiting the highest La content (0.5 mmol g−1) is the most stable with a preservation of 25% of the initial specific micropore volume after the hydrothermal treatment, whereas unmodified zeolite Y completely loses its microporosity. A new procedure using DRIFTS is a useful supplementary tool for quantifying the framework degradation of Y-type zeolites after hydrothermal treatment. Bifunctional Pt/Y catalysts after La3+ cation exchange are more active than the parent Y-zeolite for the hydrogenation of LA to γ-valerolactone (GVL), with significant enhancements in LA conversion, i.e., 94% vs. 42%, and GVL yield, i.e., 72% vs. 34%., after 24 h.

Graphical abstract: Improving the hydrothermal stability of zeolite Y by La3+ cation exchange as a catalyst for the aqueous-phase hydrogenation of levulinic acid

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Oct 2020
Accepted
15 Jan 2021
First published
29 Jan 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2021,11, 5568-5579

Improving the hydrothermal stability of zeolite Y by La3+ cation exchange as a catalyst for the aqueous-phase hydrogenation of levulinic acid

H. Vu, M. Goepel and R. Gläser, RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 5568 DOI: 10.1039/D0RA08907A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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