Synthesis and Application of Sustainable Furfuryl Alcohol‐based Plasticizer

Effect of Calcination Atmosphere on the Performance of Cu/Al2O3 Catalyst for the Selective Hydrogenation of Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol

The selective hydrogenation of the biomass platform molecule furfural (FAL) to produce furfuryl alcohol (FA) is of great significance to alleviate the energy crisis. Cu-based catalysts are the most commonly used catalysts, and their catalytic performance can be optimized by changing the preparation method. This paper emphasized the effect of calcination atmosphere on the performance of a Cu/Al2O3 catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of FAL. The precursor of the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by the ammonia evaporation method was treated with different calcination atmospheres (N2 and air). On the basis of the combined results from the characterizations using in situ XRD, TEM, N2O titration, H2-TPR and XPS, the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst calcined in the N2 atmosphere was more favorable for the dispersion and reduction of Cu species and the reduction process could produce more Cu+ and Cu0 species, which facilitated the selective hydrogenation of FAL to FA. The experimental results showed that the N2 calcination atmosphere improved the FAL conversion and FA selectivity, and the FAL conversion was further increased after reduction. Cu/Al2O3-N2-R exhibited the outstanding performance, with a high yield of 99.9% of FA after 2 h at 120 °C and an H2 pressure of 1 MPa. This work provides a simple, efficient and economic method to improve the C=O hydrogenation performance of Cu-based catalysts.

Biobased Plasticizers from Tartaric Acid: Synthesis and Effect of Alkyl Chain Length on the Properties of Poly(vinyl chloride)

A series of tartaric acid (TA) esters with different side chain lengths [dibutyl TA esters (DBTAE)-Cn], as plasticizers for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), is herein reported. Their structures have been fully characterized using proton nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Their compatibility and plasticizing effect for soft PVC were evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, tensile testing, and migration testing. The results showed that all these TA esters exhibit good plasticizing performance. At a concentration of 30 phr in PVC, the best results for the plasticizing effect, in terms of glass transition temperature reduction and elongation at break, were achieved when the ester DBTAE-C4 was used. However, the longer side chains of these esters improved the thermal stability of soft PVC blends yet exacerbated the migration behavior of these esters from PVC films in n-hexane. The properties of the plasticized PVC blends depended on the structural features of DBTAE-Cn. The plasticizing performances of the esters DBTAE-C1 and DBTAE-C4 rivaled that of dioctyl phthalate (DOP), suggesting that they have the potential to replace DOP in soft PVC materials.