Catalytic Production of Alanine from Waste Glycerol.
Yunzhu WangShinya FurukawaSong SongQian HeHiroyuki AsakuraNing YanPublished in: Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) (2019)
Chemical synthesis of amino acids directly from biomass feedstock is rare. Reported here is a one-step protocol to convert crude glycerol, from the biodiesel industry, into 43 % alanine over a Ru1 Ni7 /MgO catalyst. The multifunctional catalytic system promotes glycerol conversion into lactic acid, and then into alanine. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy revealed the existence of bimetallic RuNi species, whereas density-functional theory calculations suggested Ni-doped Ru substantially decreased the Ea of C-H bond dissociation of lactate alkoxide to form pyruvate, which is the rate-determining step. The catalytic route established in this work creates new opportunities for glycerol utilization and enriches the substrate scope of renewable feedstock to access value-added amino acids.
Keyphrases
- electron microscopy
- density functional theory
- metal organic framework
- amino acid
- lactic acid
- molecular dynamics
- high resolution
- randomized controlled trial
- highly efficient
- crystal structure
- drug delivery
- quantum dots
- ionic liquid
- wastewater treatment
- computed tomography
- magnetic resonance imaging
- single cell
- mass spectrometry
- energy transfer
- molecular dynamics simulations
- room temperature
- carbon dioxide