The hydrogenation of aqueous solutions of glucose into sorbitol has been tackled in the presence of ruthenium-functionalized catalysts using mesostructured pure-silica SBA-15 and ZrO₂-coated SBA-15 materials as supports. The influence of the metal loading and the presence of ZrO₂ in the supports on the catalytic activity of these materials have been evaluated. Metal loading is a major factor affecting the dispersion of the ruthenium active phase, but the presence of a zirconia layer onto the catalyst support revealed to be a key parameter to control not only the dispersion of Ru particles, but also their stability. Catalysts characterization and reaction tests to evaluate the catalytic performance of Ru-containing materials evidenced the beneficial influence of ZrO₂-containing supports to prevent the agglomeration of Ru nanoparticles during hydrogenation tests, thus leading to more robust catalysts. This work proposes an approach to the preparation of active and stable catalysts for aqueous phase hydrogenation of biomass-derived carbohydrates.

已经在使用介孔结构的纯二氧化硅SBA-15和ZrO ₂包覆的SBA-15材料作为载体的钌官能化催化剂存在下解决了葡萄糖水溶液加成山梨糖醇的问题。已经评估了金属负载和载体中ZrO ₂的存在对这些材料的催化活性的影响。金属负载是影响钌活性相的分散的主要因素，但是在催化剂载体上的氧化锆层的存在是不仅控制Ru颗粒的分散而且控制其颗粒稳定性的关键参数。催化剂表征和反应测试，评估含Ru材料的催化性能，证明ZrO ₂的有益影响含载体以防止Ru纳米粒子在氢化测试过程中发生团聚，从而导致催化剂更坚固。这项工作提出了一种方法，用于制备用于生物质衍生的碳水化合物的水相加氢的活性和稳定催化剂。