Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May 1;29(9):2083.
doi: 10.3390/molecules29092083.

Chitosan as a Bio-Based Ligand for the Production of Hydrogenation Catalysts

Stefano Paganelli  1   2 , Eleonora Brugnera  1 , Alessandro Di Michele  3 , Manuela Facchin  1 , Valentina Beghetto  1   2   4
Affiliations

Chitosan as a Bio-Based Ligand for the Production of Hydrogenation Catalysts

Stefano Paganelli et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Bio-based polymers are attracting increasing interest as alternatives to harmful and environmentally concerning non-biodegradable fossil-based products. In particular, bio-based polymers may be employed as ligands for the preparation of metal nanoparticles (M(0)NPs). In this study, chitosan (CS) was used for the stabilization of Ru(0) and Rh(0) metal nanoparticles (MNPs), prepared by simply mixing RhCl3 × 3H2O or RuCl3 with an aqueous solution of CS, followed by NaBH4 reduction. The formation of M(0)NPs-CS was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Their size was estimated to be below 40 nm for Rh(0)-CS and 10nm for Ru(0)-CS by SEM analysis. M(0)NPs-CS were employed for the hydrogenation of (E)-cinnamic aldehyde and levulinic acid. Easy recovery by liquid-liquid extraction made it possible to separate the catalyst from the reaction products. Recycling experiments demonstrated that M(0)NPs-CS were highly efficient up to four times in the best hydrogenation conditions. The data found in this study show that CS is an excellent ligand for the stabilization of Rh(0) and Ru(0) nanoparticles, allowing the production of some of the most efficient, selective and recyclable hydrogenation catalysts known in the literature.

Keywords: catalysis; chitosan; metal nanoparticles; platform chemicals; recyclable nanoparticles.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Hydrogenation reactions of (a) (E)-cinnamaldehyde (I) and (b) levulinic acid (V).
Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Proposed scheme of MNP formation by coordination of the metal to −COONa groups.
Figure 1
Figure 1
FTIR spectra of CS (black), Rh(0)-CS (purple) and Ru(0)-CS (green) in KBr.
Figure 2
Figure 2
TGA (a) and DSC (b) profiles of CS (black), Rh(0)-CS (magenta) and Ru(0)-CS (green).
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM (1 µm), EDX element mapping and energy spectrum of Rh(0)-CS (top) and Ru(0)-CS (bottom).
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM images (100 nm and 20 nm) of Rh(0)-CS (top) and Ru(0)-CS (bottom).
Figure 5
Figure 5
TEM images (50 nm) of Rh(0)-CS (a) and Ru(0)-CS (b).
Figure 6
Figure 6
XRD patterns of Rh(0)-CS (left) and Ru(0)-CS (right).
Scheme 3
Scheme 3
Schematic pathways of hydrogenation reaction of (E)-cinnamaldehyde (I).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. RameshKumar S., Shaiju P., O’Connor K.E., Ramesh Babu P. Bio-based and biodegradable polymers—State-of-the-art, challenges and emerging trends. Curr. Opin. Green Sustain. Chem. 2020;21:75–81. doi: 10.1016/j.cogsc.2019.12.005. - DOI
    1. Partanen A., Carus M. Biocomposites, find the real alternative to plastic—An examination of biocomposites in the market. Reinf. Plast. 2019;63:317–321. doi: 10.1016/j.repl.2019.04.065. - DOI
    1. Pudełko A., Postawa P., Stachowiak T., Malińska K., Dróżdż D. Waste derived biochar as an alternative filler in biocomposites—Mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of biochar added biocomposites. J. Clean. Prod. 2021;278:123850. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123850. - DOI
    1. Savov V., Antov P., Zhou Y., Bekhta P. Eco-Friendly Wood Composites: Design, Characterization and Applications. Polymers. 2023;15:892. doi: 10.3390/polym15040892. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Trivedi A.K., Gupta M., Singh H. PLA based biocomposites for sustainable products: A review. Adv. Ind. Eng. Polym. Res. 2023;6:382–395. doi: 10.1016/j.aiepr.2023.02.002. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources