Improving yields by switching central metal ions in porphyrazine-catalyzed oxidation of glucose into value-added organic acids with SnO2 in aqueous solution

Quanquan Zhang; Xin Li; Xingwang Wang; Xin Huang; Yuncai Liu; Fengshou Wu; Bingguang Zhang; Kejian Deng

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1114454

Improving yields by switching central metal ions in porphyrazine-catalyzed oxidation of glucose into value-added organic acids with SnO₂ in aqueous solution

Front Chem. 2023 May 30:11:1114454. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1114454. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Quanquan Zhang^{1

2}, Xin Li³, Xingwang Wang¹, Xin Huang¹, Yuncai Liu¹, Fengshou Wu⁴, Bingguang Zhang², Kejian Deng²

Affiliations

¹ College of Architecture and Material Engineering, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Institute for the Application of Green Energy Materials, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan, China.
² Key Laboratory of Catalysis and Energy Materials Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Hubei Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials Science, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, South-Central University of Nationalities, Wuhan, China.
³ College of Automotive Technology and Service, Wuhan City Polytechnic, Wuhan, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

Photocatalysis has exhibited huge potential in selective conversion of glucose into value-added chemicals. Therefore, modulation of photocatalytic material for selective upgrading of glucose is significant. Here, we have investigated the insertion of different central metal ions, Fe, Co, Mn, and Zn, into porphyrazine loading with SnO₂ for access to more efficient transformation of glucose into value-added organic acids in aqueous solution at mild reaction conditions. The best selectivity for organic acids containing glucaric acid, gluconic acid, and formic acid of 85.9% at 41.2% glucose conversion was attained by using the SnO₂/CoPz composite after reacting for 3 h. The effects of central metal ions on surficial potential and related possible factors have been studied. Experimental results showed that the introduction of metalloporphyrazine with different central metal ions on the surface of SnO₂ has a significant effect on the separation of photogenerated charges, changing the adsorption and desorption of glucose and products on the catalyst surface. The central metal ions of cobalt and iron contributed more to the positive effects toward enhancing conversion of glucose and yields of products, and manganese and zinc contributed more to the negative effects, resulting in the poor yield of products. The differences from the central metals may attribute to the surficial potential change of the composite and the coordination effects between the metal and oxygen atom. An appropriate surficial potential environment of the photocatalyst may achieve a better interactive relationship between the catalyst and reactant, while appropriate ability of producing active species matched with adsorption and desorption abilities would gain a better yield of products. These results have provided valued ideas for designing more efficient photocatalysts in selective oxidation of glucose utilizing clean solar energy in the future.

Keywords: biomass conversion; glucaric acid; glucose; metalloporphyrazine; photocatalytic oxidation.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Scientific Research Project of Education Department of Hubei Province (Q20213003), the Construction Technology Project of Hubei Province (2022), and the Scientific Research Start-up Fund Project for Talent Introduction of Hubei University of Education (2022).