Zirconium Phosphate-Pillared Zeolite MCM-36 for Green Production of γ-Valerolactone from Levulinic Acid via Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation.

γ-valerolactone (GVL), derived from biomass, is a crucial platform compound for biofuel synthesis and various industrial applications. Current methods for synthesizing GVL involve expensive catalysts and high-pressure hydrogen, prompting the search for greener alternatives. This study focuses on a novel zirconium phosphate (ZrP)-pillared zeolite MCM-36 derivative catalyst for converting levulinic acid (LA) to GVL using alcohol as a hydrogen source.

The inorganic cation-tailored "trapdoor" effect of silicoaluminophosphate zeolite for highly selective CO separation.

Functional nanoporous materials are widely explored for CO separation, in particular, small-pore aluminosilicate zeolites having a "trapdoor" effect. Such an effect allows the specific adsorbate to push away the sited cations inside the window followed by exclusive admission to the zeolite pores, which is more advantageous for highly selective CO separation. Herein, we demonstrated that the protonated organic structure-directing agent in the small-pore silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO) zeolite can be directly exchanged with Na, K, or Cs and that the Na form of SAPO- exhibited unprecedented separation for CO/CH, superior to all of the nanoporous materials reported to date.