Role of Surface Cooperative Effect in Copper Catalysts toward Highly Selective Synthesis of Valeric Biofuels

Abstract

Currently, the catalytic conversion of biomass-derived compounds into biofuels is of great significance in terms of environmental protection and sustainable development. Among them, valeric esters derived from γ-valerolactone (GVL) are regarded as one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels. Herein, the highly efficient one-pot transformation of GVL to produce a series of valeric esters was successfully achieved over novel ZrO2-incorporated ZnAl2O4-composite-supported Cu-based catalysts. An extensive investigation gave clear evidence that the incorporation of ZrO2 into composites could lead to the enhanced metal dispersion and surface acidity. Especially, the catalyst with a Zr/Zn mass ratio of 0.2 exhibited the best selectivity of 99% in the transformation of GVL into pentyl valerate to date, together with a comparable conversion of 91% with respect to the Cu-based catalyst previously reported. The superior catalytic performance was attributable to the surface cooperation effect between highly...