Ultra-small PtNi bimetallic encapsulated in silicalite-1 zeolite with fine-tuned surface acidity for selective conversion of levulinic acid

Exploration of levulinic acid (LA) hydrogenation to γ-valerolactone (GVL) contributes to the conversion from carbohydrates to valuable fuels and chemicals. Here, we obtained a series of ultra-small PtNix bimetallic composite catalysts encapsulated in silicalite-1 zeolite (S-1) via a one-pot synthesis strategy protected by tetra(p-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) ligands. The catalytic results showed that PtNi 3 @S-1 (TCPP) exhibited the most active catalytic performance (95.7% LA conversion and 93.8% GVL selectivity) under optimized conditions. The characterization results indicate that ligand modification and bimetallic synergy play an important role in enhancing the catalytic activity. The introduction of TCPP provides a guarantee for the homogeneous encapsulation of PtNi 3 in S-1 zeolite at sub-nanometer size. The electronic interaction of PtNi bimetallic, high dispersibility of active components, improved surface acidity and excellent stability co-contribute to the satisfactory hydrogenation activity.