Sustainable transformation of biomass platform molecules to valuable C1 building blocks by selective heterogeneous catalytic oxidation

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Currently, most biomass transformation processes lead to a distribution of several Cn (n1) products which requires costly separation. Therefore, driving biomass valorization processes towards preferential formation of selected target products is highly desirable, yet this is only possible with tailor-made catalysts for which in-depth knowledge on structure-reactivity relationships is needed. The major aim of this proposal is to convert biomass-derived platform molecules by oxidative C-C cleavage selectively to simple C1 molecules (HCHO or HCOOH) with a high potential as building blocks for chemical synthesis and/or energy storage. To this end, bifunctional supported Cu-based catalysts with different surface acid-base properties and different size of the active Cu sites will be prepared. Supports of different pore size and structure (zeolite Y, mesoporous MCM and/or SBA materials) will be used since confinement within the pore system of catalysts can influence both structure and size of the active sites as well as reaction pathways from educts to products. Furthermore, to improve selectivity to desired HCHO and/or HCOOH a second metal known to support C-C cleavage but not total oxidation to CO2 (e. g. Pd, Ag and Ni) will be introduced using different methods. Thus, a matrix of catalysts with purposefully varied properties will be established. Catalysts will be characterized comprehensively by standard analytical methods. Moreover, their dynamic behavior under reaction conditions will be analyzed by in situ or operando spectroscopy. From the combined evaluation of all catalytic and characterization results, rules for optimizing catalysts towards the formation of desired target products will be derived.