最近，国际学术期刊Catalysis Today（影响因子4.7, Q1，第一署名单位为皇冠，第一作者为博士后李虎，通讯作者为方真教授），发表了生物燃料最新研究成果。
该研究团队通过组装苯磷酸（PhP）和四氯化铪而制成一种酸碱双官能团纳米杂化苯磷酸MOF(金属有机框架)催化剂，使用异丙醇作为反应溶剂和氢供体，用于加氢催化糠醛（FUR）转化为糠醇（FFA）。在120℃反应2小时的条件下，FUR的转化率为99.2%，FFA产率为97.6%，生成速率为9760μmol/gh。FUR转化的活化能（Ea）估计为60.8KJ/mol，与金属催化剂相比，其具有可与之媲美甚至更低的活化能。PhP-Hf（1:1.5;苯磷酸-铪纳米MOF）显著的催化活性得益于其温和的酸性和相对强的碱性。PhP-Hf（1:1.5）催化剂可连续重复使用5次。
详情可见：
H Li, Y Li, Zhen Fang*, RL Smith Jr., Efficient Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation of Biomass-Based Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol with Recycable Hf-Phenylphosphonate Nanohybrids, Catalysis Today, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2018.04.056, 2018.
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Recently, Dr. Hu Li supervised by Profs. Zhen FANG and RL Smith has synthesized an acid-base bifunctional nanohybrid phenylphosphonic acid (PhP) – hafnium (1:1.5) through assembly of PhP with HfCl4 for catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural (FUR) to furfuryl alcohol (FFA) using 2-propanol as both reaction solvent and hydrogen donor source. An FFA yield of 97.6% with formation rate of 9760 μmol g-1 h-1 at 99.2% FUR conversion was obtained with the reaction system at 120 °C for 2 h reaction time. Activation energy (Ea) was estimated to be 60.8 kJ/mol with respect to FUR concentration, which is comparable with or even lower than Ea values attained over metal catalysts. The pronounced catalytic activity of PhP-Hf (1:1.5) is attributed to its moderate acidity and relatively strong basicity. The PhP-Hf (1:1.5) catalyst was demonstrated to maintain its activity for five consecutive reuse cycles.
Related results were published:
H Li, Y Li, Zhen Fang*, RL Smith Jr., Efficient Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation of Biomass-Based Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol with Recycable Hf-Phenylphosphonate Nanohybrids, Catalysis Today, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2018.04.056, 2018.
Mesoporous PhP-Hf(1:1.5) nanohybrid material bearing acidic and basic sites promotes catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol with 97.6% yields with 2-propanol as solvent and hydrogen donor source at 120 °C in 2 h reaction time.
