Phosphoric Acid Modified Nb2O5: A Selective and Reusable Catalyst for Dehydration of Sorbitol to Isosorbide

Niobium oxide ($Nb_2O_5$) and phosphated $Nb_2O_5$ were synthesized and used as catalysts for sorbitol dehydration to isosorbide. The characterization results of $N_2$ adsorption, XRD and $NH_3$-TPD revealed that the phosphoric acid modification could well prevent the crystallization of $Nb_2O_5$. And the amorphous phosphated $Nb_2O_5$ catalysts kept the relatively large surface area and stable acidity at high calcination temperature. The catalytic results showed that the selectivity to isosorbide could be dramatically enhanced over phosphated $Nb_2O_5$. The excellent catalytic performance with 100.0% sorbitol conversion and 62.5% isosorbide selectivity were obtained over the 0.8P/NBO-400 catalyst. Comparing with $Nb_2O_5$ catalysts, phosphated $Nb_2O_5$ catalysts regenerated through a simple calcination process showed no significant activity loss after recycling three runs.