Selective production of methylindan and tetralin with xylose or hemicellulose.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38697973.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-48101-x and PMC identifier 11066016.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Indan and tetralin are widely used as fuel additives and the intermediates in the manufacture of thermal-stable jet fuel, many chemicals, medicines, and shockproof agents for rubber industry. Herein, we disclose a two-step route to selectively produce 5-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene (abbreviated as methylindan) and tetralin with xylose or the hemicelluloses from agricultural or forestry waste. Firstly, cyclopentanone (CPO) was selectively formed with ~60% carbon yield by the direct hydrogenolysis of xylose or hemicelluloses on a non-noble bimetallic Cu-La/SBA-15 catalyst. Subsequently, methylindan and tetralin were selectively produced with CPO via a cascade self-aldol condensation/rearrangement/aromatization reaction catalyzed by a commercial H-ZSM-5 zeolite. When we used cyclohexanone (another lignocellulosic cycloketone) in the second step, the main product switched to dimethyltetralin. This work gives insights into the selective production of bicyclic aromatics with lignocellulose.