Abstract
Gamma-valerolactone (GVL) is a versatile building block compound with wide applications and it can be obtained from biomass-derived chemical levulinic acid (LA). In this study, graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) were prepared from two different precursors (urea and melamine) and used as the support to anchor ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticle (Ru/g-C3N4) for catalytic transfer hydrogenation of LA to GVL. The resulting catalyst prepared from urea precursor (Ru/UCN) showed 100% LA conversion and nearly theoretic GVL yield of 99.8% under mild condition. Detailed characterizations of the Ru/g-C3N4 suggested that Ru showed different interactions with the g-C3N4 supports from two different precursors. Ru nanoparticles exhibited smaller size and better dispersion on the g-C3N4 support from urea (UCN) than that from melamine (MCN). The XPS result indicated that more electron rich Ru0 species on the Ru/UCN catalyst also contributed to the higher catalytic activity of the Ru/UCN. Furthermore, the Ru/UCN catalyst was demonstrated high stability in acidic reaction medium and remained highly reactive after recycled for 5 times.
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