Ruthenium Catalysts on Zr- SBA-15 and Nb/Zr- SBA-15 Supports for Xylose Hydrogenation

A novel Ru-catalysts based on niobia modified Zr-SBA-15 were developed for xylose to xylitol
\nhydrogenation. The catalysts showed excellent activity and selectivity in the process at temperature as
\nlow as 70 °C providing 93 % conversion and >98 % selectivity within 90 min. As shown by the catalysts
\ncharacterization: spectroscopy (XPS, UV–Vis DRS), microscopy (TEM), temperature-programmed
\nreduction (TPR-H2) and low angle X-ray diffraction, niobium oxide has a strong interaction with the
\ndeposited ruthenium. This causes a slight decrease of the initial reaction rate of xylose hydrogenation.
\nHowever, modification of Zr- SBA-15 with niobia drastically improves the acidic properties required
\nfor a potential use of the developed catalyst in one-pot hydrolysis-hydrogenation processing of plant
\npolysaccharides into polyols, which will be the focus of a future research