Abstract
In the present work we studied the hydrogenation/hydrogenolysis of d-glucose over Pt and Ru catalysts supported on activated micro/mesoporous carbon (AC), under low hydrogen pressure (1.6MPa) and relatively high reaction temperature, i.e. 180°C. We also studied the effect of metal content (1–5wt.%), method of metal pre-treatment/reduction (H2 at 350°C or NaBH4) and reaction time (1–12h). All the Ru and Pt/AC catalysts were very active (conversion ≥97%) with the Pt/AC catalysts being also very selective toward sorbitol (sel. ≥90%) irrespective of metal content, method of reduction and reaction time (up to 12h). On the other hand, the Ru/AC catalysts exhibited a wide range of sorbitol selectivity values (55–93%) having various C3–C6 sugar alcohols (1,2,5,6-hexanetetrol, arabinitol, threitol, glycerol and 1,2-propanediol) as main by-products. The formation of by-products was dependent on the crystalline/amorphous nature of Ru and Ru(O)xδ+ nanoparticles which were in turn affected by the Ru content and the method of reduction.
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