Synthesis of mesoporous zeolites for the selective conversion of sugars into methyl lactate and other hydroxyesters

Sugars represent a valid alternative for the substitution of fossil feedstock for the production of many chemicals. Among these there is the possibility to obtain polymers precursors starting from simple sugars like glucose or other oligomers, which after polymerization lead to bio-polymers. This is made possible only with the employment of a zeolite with Lewis acidity proprieties, which act as selective catalyst. However when it is about bulky molecules like polymers, some diffusional limit can overcome because of the intrinsic micro-crystalline structure of the zeolite. Therefore this project was focused on the formation of mesoporous catalytic systems and the investigation of the influence of bigger pores when dealing with bulky substrates. Inulin and sucrose were chosen as starting material to study the effect of mesopores regarding the conversion of substrates and the selectivity trough the products of interest. All the reactions were performed in Microwaves reactor, in methanol as solvent and DMSO as internal standard. The quantification of products (methyl-lactate and other hydroxyestrs), co-products (MVG, THM, methyl-fructosides) and by-products (HMF, furfurals) was made by quantitative 13C-NMR and 2D-HSQC.