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Cattail (Typha angustifolia) flower-derived porous carbons as support of electroplated Ni and Cu catalysts for hydrogenation of methyl levulinate to γ-valerolactone
Author(s)
Date Issued
September 1, 2023
Type
Article
Abstract
The novel synthesis of carbon-supported metal catalysts was completely developed by using electroplating technique. A carbon support was prepared from cattail (Typha angustifolia) flowers (CF) as a bio-material precursor through a hydrothermal process combined carbonization. The prepared carbons exhibited a high surface area, porosity, and excellent electrical conductivity, which is relevant characteristics to materials utilized for metal catalyst supporter. In this study, electroplating technique has been applied for the catalyst synthesis to utilize in hydrogenation of methyl levulinate to γ-valerolactone. Interesting experimental parameters in electroplating such as metal precursors (Ni and Cu), solution temperatures (40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 °C), and applied voltages (3.0, 3.5. 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0 V) were thoroughly investigated on some characteristics of catalysts. The physicochemical properties of studied catalysts were comprehensively characterized by using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and focused ion beam (FIB), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen sorption analyzer to examine surface morphology, elemental compositions, distribution of the metal in cross-section surface, crystallinity, and textural pore characteristic, respectively. In electroplating process, the solution temperature of 50 °C with the applied voltage of 4 V become an optimal condition for the synthesis of catalyst with uniformed metallic phase and high metal dispersion on carbon support. Ni-carbon and Cu-carbon catalysts exhibited an excellent catalytic activity with the methyl levulinate conversion of 32.68% and 29.17%, respectively.
Citation
Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, 13(14), 12631-12641, 2023