Synergy in Sn-Mn oxide boosting the hydrogenation catalysis of supported Pt nanoparticles for selective conversion of levulinic acid

The synergistic effect in a bimetallic oxide usually plays a vital role in determining the behavior of supported-metal catalysts. We show the unique synergy in a Sn x Mn 1 O y oxide, which can boost the hydrogenation catalysis of supported Pt nanoparticles for selective conversion of levulinic acid (LA) to γ-valerolactone (GVL). On a series of Pt/Sn x Mn 1 O y catalysts with a similar Pt loading ( ca. 0.44 wt%) and a controlled Pt size ( ca. 2.7 nm), the intrinsic TOF presents a volcano-like dependence on Pt 0 sites and Lewis acidity, which is determined by the variable synergistic effect between MnO y and SnO y . The optimal Pt/Sn 0.8 Mn 1 O y catalyst exhibits a high i TOF of 2709 h −1 and achieves 100% selectivity to GVL at 99% conversion of LA at 120 ℃ and 2 MPa of H 2 . DFT calculations demonstrate that the incorporation of Sn can provide a lower energy barrier for the crucial elementary reactions.