Self-assembled spheres of silico-phospho-aluminum nanosheets were synthesized with the addition of l-arginine and evaluated as catalysts for the valorization of furfuryl alcohol to fuel additives. Adding the amino acid, a bio-derived additive, contributed to higher external specific surface area and more active sites, featuring a simple, environmentally friendly, and feasible strategy to regulate the growth of nanosheets. Herein, in the reaction of furfuryl alcohol with ethanol, the performance of silico-phospho-aluminum nanosheets was significantly improved compared with typical silicon phosphorus aluminum catalyst SAPO-34. The yield of ethyl levulinate with the use of silico-phospho-aluminum nanosheets was 7.8 times higher than for SAPO-34, and meanwhile the amount of undesirable byproduct diethyl ether was decreased by two orders of magnitude and negligibly produced compared with SAPO-34. Moreover, replacing part of aluminum isopropoxide with aluminum sulfate as aluminum source could introduce sulfate in situ in the process of catalyst synthesis and increase the amount of acid sites on the catalyst.
Keywords: amino acids; diethyl ether; ethyl levulinate; furfuryl alcohol; nanosheets.
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