DESIGN OF EFFICIENT BIFUNCTIONAL CATALYSTS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION OF TANDEM CATALYSIS IN ONE-POT PROCESSES

MARTÍNEZ FIGUEREDO, KARLA G.; SEGOBIA, DARÍO J.; BERTERO, NICOLÁS M.

Advances in Chemistry Research. Volume 81

Nova Science Publishers

Lugar: New York ; Año: 2023; p. 147 - 184

The general concept behind bifunctional heterogeneous catalysis is that on the surface ofthe catalytic material there are two distinct types of active sites that work in tandem orcooperatively to perform a surface-catalyzed reaction or several consecutive reactions.The most general classification of bifunctional catalysts can be based on the fact that: (1)the two sites participate in the same chemical step (simultaneous interaction), forexample through interaction of different parts of an adsorbed reactant molecule with thecatalyst as in a concerted reaction or (2) the active sites take part in different types ofelementary steps as part of an overall reaction path (successive interaction). Thesebifunctional catalysts are employed worldwide for the production of many valuableproducts, since fine chemicals to biofuels thank to the rational design of the catalystsurface.This work particularly explains the steps involved in the design and evaluation of abifunctional catalyst to be used in the production of a valuable product starting from aconvenient raw material involving different consecutive catalytic reactions. Moreover,the advantages of performing these consecutive chemical steps in a one-pot process basedon tandem catalysis are also explained, providing also a relatively simple guide forcategorize these processes. Then, the most widely employed approaches for the designand evaluation of bifunctional catalysts are thoroughly explained, comparing thesestrategies and analyzing their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the example of theproduction of pentyl valerate (a biofuel compatible with diesel) from biomass-derived -valerolactone is presented, where these diverse approaches have been applied for thedesign of efficient bifunctional catalytic materials.