Design of N‐Doped Carbon Materials Assisted Co−CoOx Anchoring on Mesoporous Silica Spheres Catalyst for Levulinic Acid Valorization

Abstract

AbstractThe design of robust catalyst was of great significance for the valorization of biomass platforms. Herein, an efficient Co@mSiO2−CN catalyst was constructed via a simple impregnation‐mixing‐pyrolysis strategy, which could give 100 % yield of γ‐valerolactone from levulinic acid for no less than five cycles under a relatively mild reaction conditions (160 °C, 1.5 MPa H2,3 h).The results of catalyst characterizations and comparative experiments showed that the introduction of nitrogen‐doped carbon materials promoted the dispersion of Co and enhanced the Lewis acidity of the catalyst, thereby promoting the dissociation of H2 and the activation of C−O, respectively. The synergistic effect between the hydrogenation metal sites and the Lewis acidic site ensures excellent activity of the catalyst.