Direct conversion of cellulose into sorbitol with high yield by a novel mesoporous niobium phosphate supported Ruthenium bifunctional catalyst

• Dual-functionalized catalyst with porous niobium phosphate and Ru NP was prepared.
• The catalyst showed high yield for the conversion of cellulose into sorbitol.
• The catalytic activity was related to the total acid amount of the catalyst.
• The catalyst showed excellent stability after repeated uses.

A novel mesoporous niobium phosphate supported Ruthenium (Ru/NbOPO4) catalyst was prepared for the selective conversion of cellulose to sorbitol. In this study, the influence of reaction temperature, hydrogen pressure, reaction time and the amounts of Ru loading was systematically investigated. The results showed that high yield of sorbitol about 59–69% with above 90% cellulose conversion was obtained due to synergic effect between acid sites and Ru nanoparticles (Ru NPs) over Ru/NbOPO4 catalyst. In the process of cellulose to sorbitol, NbOPO4 promoted the conversion from cellulose to glucose via hydrolysis and Ru NPs catalyzed the generated glucose into sorbitol via hydrogenation. This novel catalyst was demonstrated to be stable after four cycles only with slight loss in catalytic activity. The characterization data showed that the total acid amount of the solid catalyst was important for the sorbitol formation and the catalyst with high acid amount was more favorable for sorbitol production.

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