Unravelling mass transport in hierarchically porous catalysts

Abstract

Bio-derived platform chemicals and fuels are important for the development of sustainable manufacturing. However, their efficient production from biomass necessitates new catalysts and processes optimised for the selective transformation of large molecules. Mesoporous and hierarchically porous functional materials are promising catalyst candidates for biomass valorisation, but quantitative relationships between pore dimensions/connectivity, mass transport, and corresponding catalytic performance are poorly defined. A family of hierarchical macroporous-mesoporous SBA-15 sulfonic acids were prepared with tunable macropore diameters for carboxylic acid esterification. Turnover frequencies for long-chain (palmitic and erucic) acids were proportional to macropore diameter (≤370 nm), whereas propanoic acid esterification was independent of macropore size. Pulsed field gradient NMR diffusion experiments reveal that larger macropores enhance esterification of bulky carboxylic acids by conferring superior pore interconnectivity and associated mass transport.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ta01867k
Divisions: College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI)
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences
Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge the EPSRC for funding this work (grants EP/G007594/4 and EP/F063423/2). N. R. acknowledges the Catalysis@Cambridge initiative, University of Cambridge, for the award of a PhD studentship. C. D. A. would like to acknowledge Wol
Additional Information: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Chemistry(all),Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Materials Science(all)
Publication ISSN: 2050-7496
Last Modified: 11 Mar 2024 08:27
Date Deposited: 03 Jun 2019 10:12
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
https://pubs.rs ... 7K#!divAbstract (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2019-04-24
Accepted Date: 2019-04-08
Authors: Isaacs, Mark A.
Robinson, Neil
Barbero, Brunella
Durndell, Lee J.
Manayil, Jinesh C. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-9864-3332)
Parlett, Christopher M.A. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-3651-7314)
D'Agostino, Carmine
Wilson, Karen
Lee, Adam F.

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