Catalytic conversion of Jerusalem artichoke tuber into hexitols using the bifunctional catalyst Ru/(AC-SO3H)

Jerusalem artichoke tuber (JAT) was employed as a feedstock for production of hexitols under mild conditions over a sulfonated activated carbon supported Ru catalyst (Ru/(AC-SO3H)). In comparison with conventional Ru/AC catalyst, the sulfonation process of the carbon support was observed to create abundant surface acid groups, which in turn function as the anchoring sites for Ru nanoparticles, thus increasing the dispersion of Ru. Consequently, the bifunctional Ru/(AC-SO3H) catalyst displayed significantly enhanced activity in one-pot production of hexitols from JAT; the hexitols yield achieved 92.6% over the 3%Ru/(AC-SO3H) catalyst when the reaction was conducted at 373 K and 6 MPa H2 for 3 h. The stability of the catalyst was also investigated, which showed a decreasing trend in the yield of sorbitol with the run number due to poisoning of Ru surface by the impurity in the JAT feedstock. In contrast, when pure inulin was used as the feedstock, the catalyst presented excellent stability in the successive four runs.

Graphical AbstractBifunctional catalysts Ru/(AC-SO3H) were developed for the conversion of JAT into hexitols. The hydrolysis and hydrogenation active sites were suitably tailored to achieve a hexitol yield of 92.6%.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide