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Titanosilicate mesoporous materials with adjustable textural properties for catalyzing the acetalization reaction of biomass derived furfural and n-propanol

  • Original Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for catalytic, photoelectrochemical and sensor applications
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Abstract

Titanosilicate mesoporous materials (TiSi-MMs) with adjustable textural properties were synthesized by the sol-gel method. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was used as Si source, while tetraethyl orthotitanate (TEOT) or potassium titanium oxide oxalate dihydrate (PTOOD) was used as Ti source. With an increase of Ti content, the specific surface area and pore volume of TiSi-MMs decrease while the pore size increases. The specific surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter of TEOT-derived TiSi-MMs are larger than those of PTOOD-derived TiSi-MMs. In the acetalization reaction of biomass-derived furfural with n-propanol, the conversions of furfural over TEOT-derived TiSi-MMs are higher than that over silicate mesoporous material (Si-MM), demonstrating that the introduction of Ti significantly enhances the catalytic performance. Furthermore, the catalytic performance of TEOT-derived TiSi-MMs is better than that of PTOOD-derived TiSi-MMs. The sample with the largest Ti content and the highest number of strongly acidic sites shows the best catalytic performance. The numbers of strong acidic sites are positively correlated with the Ti contents of TiSi-MMs. Ti content and specific surface area are the two main factors affecting the catalytic performance because they determine the density and intensity of accessible Lewis acidic catalytic sites (coordinatively unsaturated Ti4+) in the catalyst channels, thus determining the catalytic performance in the acetalization reaction. These TiSi-MMs show good catalytic performance and can be used to efficiently catalyze the acetalization reaction of biomass derived furfural and n-propanol.

Graphical abstract

Highlights

  • Lewis acid sites of the catalyst mainly originate from coordinatively unsaturated Ti4+ on surface.

  • The number of strong acidic sites is positively correlated with the Ti content of catalyst.

  • Acid strength rather than acid amount of the catalyst plays a more important role in some cases.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant no. 2017YFA0204600)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, 312000, China

    Fan Song, Xiandong Yao, Cong Wan & Lijun Wang

  2. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Special Artificial Microstructure Materials and Technology, School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, P. R. China

    Shuang Xi

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Song, F., Yao, X., Wan, C. et al. Titanosilicate mesoporous materials with adjustable textural properties for catalyzing the acetalization reaction of biomass derived furfural and n-propanol. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 106, 349–359 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-022-05809-w

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