Chinese Journal of Catalysis

Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2026, Vol. 86: 99-111.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65047-4

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

PtIn nanoalloy supported on Sn-MFI for efficient selective oxidation of glycerol to lactic acid

Haodong Xiea,1, Yumeng Foa,1, Hongwei Zhangb, Hua Xua,c, Xiao Zhanga, Yingshuo Guoa, Runze Lia, Ruolin Zhangc, Guilin Liua, Xicheng Jiad, Jiazhou Lia, Yuming Zhanga, Meizan Jinga,*(), Weiyu Songa,*(), Wenhao Luoe,*(), Zhijie Wua,*()   

  1. a State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing and Key Laboratory of Catalysis of CNPC, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
    b Biogas Institute of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs， Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
    c Petrochemical Research Institute, PetroChina, Beijing 102206, China
    d Department of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing at Karamay, Karamay 834000, Xinjiang, China
    e College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, Inner Mongolia, China
  • Received:2025-10-31 Accepted:2026-01-04 Online:2026-07-18 Published:2026-06-12
  • Contact: *E-mail: jingmeizan@163.com (M. Jing), songwy@cup.edu.cn (W. Song), w.luo@imu.edu.cn (W. Luo), zhijiewu@cup.edu.cn (Z. Wu).
  • About author:1Contributed equally to this work.
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFB3805602)

RichHTML

4

PDF (PC)

31

Abstract:

Developing efficient Pt-based catalysts is crucial for sustainable lactic acid (LA) production via glycerol oxidation. Herein, we synthesized a series of robust PtIn/Sn-MFI catalysts with low Pt loading of 0.5 wt% for glycerol oxidation under base-free conditions. The PtIn/Sn-MFI catalysts with varying In contents exhibited a volcano-shaped trend between turnover frequency (TOF) and In/Pt molar ratio. Among all tested catalysts, the Pt0.5In1.0/Sn-MFI sample exhibited the highest catalytic activity (1283 h-1), achieving 96.8% glycerol conversion with 73.5% LA selectivity, surpassing the monometallic Pt0.5/Sn-MFI catalyst. Furthermore, the Pt0.5In1.0/Sn-MFI catalyst maintained excellent stability, with no significant degradation in catalytic performance even after five consecutive recycling runs. Experimental analysis and characterizations verified the formation of PtIn2 nanoalloys, accompanied by electron transfer from In to Pt, which significantly enhanced the catalysts’ O−H bond activation ability, resulting in high activity and selectivity. Combined with kinetic studies and density functional theory calculations, we further revealed that PtIn2 nanoalloy active sites significantly reduce the activation energy barrier for the dehydrogenation of the secondary hydroxy group in the reaction pathway. This work offers new perspectives on the rational design of cost-effective, high-efficiency catalysts for the sustainable oxidation of glycerol to LA.

Key words: PtIn nanoalloy, Glycerol oxidation, Lactic acid, Sn-MFI zeolite, Synergistic catalysis