Yang Juncheng,Jia Yihong,Fan Chao,Cheng Yu,Pan Cheng,Huang Benhua,Meng Xu,Zhang Junjie,Zheng Aqun,Ma Xiaomo,Li Xiaoyong,Luque Rafael,Sun Yang
The aqueous room temperature mono-dehydration of sugar alcohols (D-sorbitol and D-mannitol) was conducted using functionalized yttrium oxide nanocatalysts prepared via sol-gel methods. Materials exhibited high selectivity to mono-dehydration products. Solvent and catalyst effects were also investigated and discussed. The introduction of titanium into the yttrium oxide framework would decrease both substrate conversion and mono-dehydration efficiency. In addition, studies of the catalytic mechanism indicate high mono-dehydration efficiency may come from the stability of the formed intermediate during catalysis. This work provides a highly efficient and benign system for catalytic mono-dehydration of sugar alcohols.
The mono-dehydration of sugar alcohols such as D-sorbitol and D-mannitol generates 1,4-sorbitan and 1,4-mannitan, respectively, which are relevant platform molecules for the synthesis of detergents and pharmaceuticals. Most reported catalytic systems provided access to di-dehydrated products, while mono-dehydration required special efforts, particularly regarding selectivity and reaction temperature. A series of functionalized yttrium oxides were prepared via sol–gel synthesis in this work, which not only showed an interesting micropipe-like morphology, but also contained functional components. These materials were investigated as photocatalysts in the dehydration of D-sorbitol and D-mannitol, exhibiting high selectivity to mono-dehydration. The effects of solvent, temperature and catalyst were fully discussed. A catalytic mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results and calculations.