One-step synthesis of pentane fuel from γ-valerolactone with high selectivity over a Co/HZSM-5 bifunctional catalyst

The selective conversion of biomass-derived gamma-valerolactone (GVL) to alternative green transportation fuels with high selectivity through a one-step synthesis process remains very challenging. The current procedures for GVL conversion to liquid fuels suffer from low selectivity or multiple operation steps with high energy consumption. Herein, we reported a simple and efficient way for the one-step synthesis of pentane fuel from GVL over the designed Co/HZSM-5 bifunctional catalyst in a single fixed-bed reactor under mild reaction conditions. The excellent catalytic performance of 99.9% conversion of GVL with 93.5% selectivity to pentane fuel and good stability for 100 h on stream was obtained. Combined experimental and theoretical studies demonstrated that the synergetic effect of interfacial active sites between metallic Co-0 and proton acids of HZSM-5 is crucial for the high catalytic performance via providing a spontaneous carbonyl carbon-oxygen single bond cleavage path of GVL toward the selective synthesis of targeted pentane fuel through a series of subsequent reactions such as hydrogenation and hydrodehydration.