Towards the selectivity distinction of phenol hydrogenation on noble metal catalysts

Hydrogenation of the benzene rings in PET degraded chemicals over meso-HZSM-5 supported Ru catalyst

Chemical upcycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to value-added products can reduce the emission of CO2, microplastics and toxic chemicals. In this work, mesoporous H-type Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 (HZSM-5) supported Ru catalyst (Ru/m-HZSM-5) was synthesized and tested in the hydrogenation of PET degraded chemicals (bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate, dimethyl terephthalate, diethyl terephthalate, and terephthalic acid). Characterizations disclosed that Ru/m-HZSM-5 catalyst possesses mesopores (a dominant channel of 5.32 nm), enlarged specific surface area (404 m2·g-1), and Ru NPs dispersed highly (40.6 %) compared to that of Ru/HZSM-5. And also, it was found that Ru/m-HZSM-5 was capable for the hydrogenation of benzene rings in these PET degraded chemicals with large sizes (1.09-1.82 nm). In particular, the conversion of BHET and the selectivity of BHCD over Ru/m-HZSM-5 reached 95.5 % and 95.6 % at 120 °C within 2 h. And Ru/m-HZSM-5 could be recycled at least five times without obvious loss of activity and selectivity.

The Biomass of Pig-Blood-Derived Carbon as a Novel Electrode Material for Hydrogen Peroxide Electrochemical Sensing

In the work, a pig-blood-derived mesoporous carbon (BC) was prepared as a novel Fe-N-C material for the electrochemical sensor to detect hydrogen peroxide. Because of the unique nanostructure of Fe-BCs with rough surface structure, hierarchical pores, and high graphitization degree, the Fe-BCs, as a kind of advanced electrode material, exhibited remarkable performance in electrocatalysis. The sensor based on Fe-BCs exhibited an extra-long range from c and a detection limit of 0.046 μM (S/N = 3). The synthesis of low-cost, advanced carbon-based electrode materials from environmentally friendly pig blood for electrochemical sensor construction is a promising approach.

Recent progress on selective hydrogenation of phenol toward cyclohexanone or cyclohexanol

Phenol is considered as an important platform molecule for synthesizing value-added chemical intermediates and products. To date, various strategies for phenol transformation have been developed, and among them, selective hydrogenation of phenol toward cyclohexanone (K), cyclohexanol (A) or the mixture KA oil has been attracted great interest because they are both the key raw materials for the synthesis of nylon 6 and 66, as well as many other chemical products, including polyamides. However, until now it is still challengeable to realize the industrilized application of phenol hydrogenation toward KA oils. To better understand the selective hydrogenation of phenol and fabricate the enabled nanocatalysts, it is necessary to summarize the recent progress on selective hydrogenation of phenol with different catalysts. In this review, we first summarize the selective hydrogenation of phenol toward cyclohexanone or cyclohexanol by different nanocatalysts, and simultaneously discuss the relationship among the active components, type of supports and their performances. Then, the possible reaction mechanism of phenol hydrogenation with the typical metal nanocatalysts is summarized. Subsequently, the possible ways for scale-up hydrogenation of phenol are discussed. Finally, the potential challenges and future developments of metal nanocatalysts for the selective hydrogenation of phenol are proposed.