Hierarchical Sn-Beta Zeolite Catalyst for the Conversion of Sugars to Alkyl Lactates

Abstract

Enhancing the yield of alkyl lactate from sugars is in great demand but challengeable to accomplish. Here we report a facile but efficient route to make this by employing a hierarchical and Sn-containing Beta zeolite (Sn-Beta-H). The hierarporosity in the Sn-Beta-H facilitates the conversion of sugars into important intermediates for producing alkyl lactate in the competition with undesirable side reactions, thus outperforming the conventional Sn-zeolite catalysts in yielding alkyl lactate from a wide scope of sugars. Particularly, the yield of alkyl lactate could reach as high as 72.1% from sucrose. Importantly, the Sn-Beta-H is stable and can be easily recycled for five times with constant catalytic performances.