Kinetic Insights into a Surface-Designed Au<sub>1</sub>@Pt<sub>8</sub>/CeO<sub>2</sub> Catalyst in the Base-Free Oxidation of Biomass-Derived Tetrahydrofuran-2,5-dimethanol
Enhui Du, Panpan Hao, Jie Yang, Liyuan Huai, Guoxin Chen, Chunlin Chen, Jian Zhang
Abstract
Oxidizing alcohols to carboxylic acids presents the challenge of preserving reactivity and selectivity and minimizing alkali additives, necessitating precision construction of the catalytic surface to guide selective oxidation behavior. In this study, we designed core–shell structured catalysts with controllably tunable surface components for highly efficient oxidation of biomass-derived tetrahydrofuran-2,5-dimethanol (THFDM) to tetrahydrofuran-2,5-dicarboxylic acid under base-free conditions, offering a potential alternative to petro-based 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid. The optimized Au 1 @Pt 8 /CeO 2 catalyst breaks the constraints arising from intertwined electronic and geometric structures, achieving a desirable balance between activity and selectivity. More importantly, kinetic analysis and Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) modeling demonstrate enhanced adsorption of both THFDM and oxygen, subsequently altering the rate-determining step.