Efficient and Stable Cu‐Cu2O@NC Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Conversion of Glycerol to Lactic Acid

Abstract Developing efficient Cu‐based catalysts for catalytic conversion of glycerol to lactic acid has attracted much attention because of the low cost and high activity. However, construction of efficient Cu‐based catalysts with high stability for aqueous reactions at high temperatures still remains a challenge. Herein, highly dispersed Cu 0 and Cu 2 O nanoparticles encapsulated by N‐doped C (Cu‐Cu 2 O@NC) were constructed by calcination of Cu‐based MOF for the catalytic dehydrogenation of glycerol to lactic acid under N 2 atmosphere. The Cu‐Cu 2 O@NC‐400 catalyst exhibited 100 % conversion of glycerol with 84.8 % selectivity to lactic acid at 220 °C for 90 min. The Cu‐Cu 2 O@NC‐400 catalyst could be reused for eight times with almost no loss in the catalytic activity. The Cu‐Cu 2 O@NC‐400 catalyst is stable in the harsh reaction conditions, for the aggregation of Cu nanoparticles is avoided due to the confinement effect. The Cu‐Cu 2 O@NC‐400 catalyst demonstrated high catalytic activity and superior reusability benefitting from the N‐doping and highly dispersed Cu nanoparticles embedded in N‐doped C. This work will pave the way for designing efficient catalysts with high stability for catalytic dehydrogenation of alcohols.