Benchmarking catalytic activity and cyclic stability of glycerol oxidation to dihydroxyacetone over bio-templated porous ZSM-5 platform composite with Au/CuO

Oxidizing glycerol (the primary by-product of biodiesel production) into 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA) can significantly boost the economic feasibility of the biodiesel industry, but the catalyst deactivation remains a significant challenge. Herein, we present a novel approach that achieves a breakthrough in the conversion of glycerol to DHA through the integration of porous zeolite platform (bio-ZSM-5), derived from corn straw templates, with the traditional Au/CuO catalyst via mechanical milling. Under alkali-free conditions, the synthesized Au/CuO@bio-ZSM-5 catalyst exhibits remarkable glycerol conversion rate of 97.3% and DHA selectivity of 92.2%. Notably, the catalyst retains its efficacy with a glycerol conversion of 89.7% and DHA selectivity of 90.3% even after three regeneration cycles, surpassing all previously documented catalysts for this specific reaction. Serial characterizations and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the incorporation of bio-ZSM-5 can modify the electronic structure of surface Au, reduce the adsorption energy of glycerol, and elevate the reduction temperature. This work is expected to provide an effective perspective for the design of catalysts with high cyclic stability.