Nickel phosphide nanoparticle catalyst is the full package
- Date:
- February 4, 2021
- Source:
- Osaka University
- Summary:
- Researchers prepared a nickel phosphide nanoparticle catalyst on a hydrotalcite support that showed high activity and selectivity in the hydrogenation of D-glucose to D-sorbitol. The catalyst was air-stable, reusable, and effective in water and at 25°C or 1 bar hydrogen gas pressure. Its mild operating conditions will contribute to the low-cost, green, and sustainable production of D-sorbitol for food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries.
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Many different catalysts that promote the conversion of glucose to sorbitol have been studied; however, most offer certain properties while requiring compromises on others. Now, researchers from Osaka University have reported a hydrotalcite-supported nickel phosphide nanoparticle catalyst (nano-Ni2P/HT) that ticks all the boxes. Their findings are published in Green Chemistry.
Sorbitol is a versatile molecule that is widely used in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals industries. There is therefore a pressing need to produce sorbitol in a sustainable, low-cost, and green manner.
The nickel catalysts that are commonly used in the industrial hydrogenation of glucose to sorbitol are unstable in air and require hash reaction conditions. Rare metal alternatives -- despite being more efficient -- can be expensive and are susceptible to poisoning.
nano-Ni2P/HT is stable in air and has a high activity for the hydrogenation of glucose to sorbitol. In addition, nano-Ni2P/HT produces a particular sorbitol structure, known as D-sorbitol, at more than 99% yield. This high selectivity means that a high-purity product can be obtained.
The nano-Ni2P/HT-catalyzed hydrogenation can be carried out in water. Moreover, the catalyst shows good conversion and selectivity when the temperature is just 25°C -- compared with 100-180°C for conventional processes -- or when the hydrogen gas pressure is only 1 bar -- compared with 50-150 bar. The energy saved by using these mild conditions would lead to greener and more sustainable procedures, as well as reduce operating costs.
"Our nano-Ni2P/HT catalyst outperformed conventional nickel alternatives in terms of both the catalytic activity and the amount of D-sorbitol that was produced, which is very encouraging," study first author Sho Yamaguchi explains. "nano-Ni2P/HT also gave a better yield of D-sorbitol than a commercially available noble metal catalyst."
Repeated use of the catalyst showed that nano-Ni2P/HT could be recycled with no significant loss of performance. The reaction could also be carried out at high glucose concentration (50 wt%), which demonstrates the viability of the catalyst for large scale use.
"The continual improvement of industrial catalyst is necessary to achieve sustainable, low-cost production with an environmental conscience," says study corresponding author Takato Mitsudome. "We believe our catalyst will make an important contribution, not only to D-sorbitol production, but to the development of other processes that support the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics industries."
Story Source:
Materials provided by Osaka University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal References:
- Sho Yamaguchi, Shu Fujita, Kiyotaka Nakajima, Seiji Yamazoe, Jun Yamasaki, Tomoo Mizugaki, Takato Mitsudome. Air-stable and reusable nickel phosphide nanoparticle catalyst for the highly selective hydrogenation of d-glucose to d-sorbitol. Green Chemistry, 2021; DOI: 10.1039/D0GC03301D
- Sho Yamaguchi, Shu Fujita, Kiyotaka Nakajima, Seiji Yamazoe, Jun Yamasaki, Tomoo Mizugaki, Takato Mitsudome. Air-stable and reusable nickel phosphide nanoparticle catalyst for the highly selective hydrogenation of d-glucose to d-sorbitol. Green Chemistry, 2021; DOI: 10.1039/D0GC03301D
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