Supported Bimetallic Pt/X Catalysts for the Hydrodeoxygenation of N ‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)Succinimide

ABSTRACT

Biomass presents an attractive resource for a sustainable production of platform chemicals and monomers. Especially N‐containing compounds are broadly utilized as solvents, in polymer production and as fine chemicals or pharmaceutics. An important compound is N‐vinyl‐pyrrolidone used for polyvinylpyrrolidone production (PVP). Today it is produced based on fossil acetylene via Reppe chemistry and vinylation. However, it can be accessed from biomass‐derived succinic acid by reductive amination with ethanolamine and hydrodeoxygenation followed by dehydration of the ethanol group to provide the vinyl functionality. Previous studies identified selective hydrodeoxygenation of the intermediate N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)succinimide (HESim) as crucial to achieve high selectivity and yield. At the same time, an LCA study highlighted the significant impact of selective product formation on the CO ₂ ‐footprint of this route. This study discusses bimetallic Pt/X (X = V, Cu, Ni, Co, and Mo) catalysts supported on TiO ₂ for efficient hydrodeoxygenation of HESim. Aiming for high activity and overall performance, alternative metal combinations were screened and recycling experiments conducted. Combining Pt and Mo on TiO ₂ allowed achieving 97% HESim conversion and 95% yield of the two desired products N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐2‐pyrrolidone (HEP) and 4‐hydroxy‐N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐butanamide (HEBA). Accordingly, Pt/Mo on TiO ₂ outperforms the previous literature best performer based on a supported Pt/Re‐catalyst.