Bio-propylene glycol as value-added product from Epicerol® process

The production of chemicals from bio-based feedstocks is an emerging field of research in both industrial and academic communities. Here we present the synthesis of propylene glycol through catalytic hydrogenolysis of glycidol, obtained using a side-stream from the bio-based epichlorohydrin production plant, over Pd/C catalyst. In particular, we show the prominent effect of the acidic resin Amberlyst-15 in the selective and quantitative conversion of glycidol that permits to reach a TOF value of 162 h^?1. Propylene glycol is obtained with high yields and selectivity (> 99%) in only 1 h under mild reaction conditions. The effect of solvent is also investigated giving interesting results on the reaction selectivity. The catalytic system (Pd/C + Amberlyst-15) shows a good recyclability also after seven reaction cycles reaching high performances in term of conversion and selectivity. This allowed minimizing the amount of waste and enhancing the efficiency of the whole system.     

Facile synthesis of 3D flower-like Pt nanostructures on polypyrrole nanowire matrix for enhanced methanol oxidation

Here we report the simple and rapid synthesis of three-dimension Pt flower-like nanostructures (PtNFs) on a polypyrrole nanowires (PPyNWs) matrix. Both PtNFs and PPyNWs are prepared by an electrochemical approach without using any seed, template or surfactant. The morphology and chemical composition of the resulting PtNF/PPyNWs hybrids are characterized by scanning electron microscopy and by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. Taking methanol oxidation as a model catalysis reaction, the electrocatalytic performance of the as-prepared PtNF/PPyNWs system has been evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry, evidencing that these 3D materials exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and high level of poisoning tolerance to the carbonaceous oxidative intermediates. Such electrocatalytic performances can be ascribed to the combined effect of the flower-like structure promoting the exposure of more sites and the polymer nanowires matrix endorsing high dispersion of PtNF on a high electrochemically active surface area, besides the removal of sub-products from electrocatalytic sites.

Platinum nanoflowers on polymer nanowires exhibit catalytic properties ascribed to the effect of high surface area flower-like structures and polymer 3D structure.