Synergy between In and Lewis Acidic Sites in In-Encapsulated Titanium Silicalite-1 for One-Step Catalytic Conversion of Glucose to Methyl Lactate

The use of renewable resources to produce value-added chemicals is pivotal to sustainable industrial development. In this study, we investigated a sustainable method for the one-step preparation of methyl lactate (MLA) from glucose using In-encapsulated Titanium Silicalite-1 (In-TS-1), which offers an environmentally friendly pathway to produce biodegradable plastics. The optimal conditions for the catalyst preparation and reaction processes were established and a glucose conversion of 98.7% with an MLA yield of 55.2% was achieved, and the byproduct lactic acid was maintained at a minor value of 2.4%. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the confinement effect of the TS-1 pores is beneficial for capturing glucose molecules and enriching the surface of In particles with electrons, which facilitates strong adsorption by In and thereby promotes the conversion of glucose into MLA. Moreover, catalyst recycling tests confirmed good stability. This study demonstrates an efficient method to derive MLA from biomass and provides a theoretical explanation for the observed catalytic behavior.