Abstract
Three different metals were successfully incorporated into the mesoporous siliceous material, TUD-1, for the first time. One-pot synthesis was applied to incorporate isolated Al3+, nanoparticles of WO3, and nanoparticles of metallic Ni with different loadings into TUD-1. The prepared materials were characterized by means of elemental analysis, XRD, N-2 physisorption, NH3-TPD, SEM, EDX and TEM. Characterization data confirmed the incorporation of isolated Al3+ ions in the framework of TUD-1, in addition to metallic Ni (3-5 nm) and WO3 (10-15 nm) nanoparticles inside the pores of TUD-1 matrix. Moreover, extra-framework WO3 particles (0.5-1 mu m) were also detected. The catalytic activity of the prepared samples was evaluated in the selective hydrogenolysis of cellulose into ethylene glycol at 503 K under 4 MPa of H-2 pressure in the presence of water as a solvent. The catalyst with the multiple active sites exhibited the highest cellulose conversion (100%) after reaction for 90 min and the ethylene glycol yield was 76%.