Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2020, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (9): 1320-1336.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(20)63590-2

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Structural sensitivity of heterogeneous catalysts for sustainable chemical synthesis of gluconic acid from glucose

Wenjuan Yana, Dongpei Zhanga, Yu Suna, Ziqi Zhoua, Yihang Dua, Yiyao Dua, Yushan Lia, Mengyuan Liua, Yuming Zhangb, Jian Shenc, Xin Jina   

  1. a State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, Center for Chemical Engineering Experimental Teaching, China University of Petroleum(East China), Qingdao 266580, Shandong, China;
    b State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, Beijing Key Laboratory of Process Fluid Filtration and Separation, China University of Petroleum(Beijing), Beijing 102249, China;
    c Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99354, USA
  • Received:2020-01-16 Revised:2020-02-27 Online:2020-09-18 Published:2020-08-08
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (21706290), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2017MB004, ZR2017BB007), Postdoctoral Research Funding of Shandong Province (201703016), Qingdao Postdoctoral Research Funding (BY20170210), Fundamental Research Funding of Qingdao (17-1-1-67-jch, 17-1-1-80-jch), "Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities" (18CX02145A, 17CX02017A) and new faculty start-up funding from the China University of Petroleum (YJ201601058).

Abstract: Gluconic acid and its derivatives have been widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Conventional processes that involve the conversion of glucose into gluconic acid via fermentation present several technological shortcomings as they involve energy-intensive wastewater treatment and complex enzyme separation. Greener oxidation processes over heterogeneous metal catalysts have attracted increasing attention worldwide. Au-, Pt- and Pd-based heterogeneous catalysts have been extensively used for the chemical oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid. Bimetallic catalysts synthesized by adding either noble or inexpensive metals have also presented excellent performance for the oxidations of glucose. In particular, particle size, which has been recognized as the most important factor that affect catalytic performances, could be rationally tuned by changing the types of support and ligand as well as the synthesis conditions. In this perspective review, we summarize and critically discuss the recent advances in the structural design of mono- and bimetallic catalysts for the oxidation of glucose in aqueous media. Furthermore, the challenges of developing catalysts for the green synthesis of gluconic acid have been highlighted. This review provides alternative insights for designing effective catalytic materials for the catalytic oxidation of bio-derived oxygenates over heterogeneous catalysts.

Key words: Glucose, Gluconic acid, Noble metal, Oxidation, Heterogeneous catalyst