Publications by authors named "Siquan Xu"

Biodegradable and renewable biomass aerogel has attracted significant attention because of its excellent characteristics. However, most aerogels were limited by poor mechanical strength and complex fabrication process. Herein, two delignified Tetrapanax papyriferus (TP) lignocellulosic samples (TP-SC, TP-FA/HAC) served as renewable porous skeletons with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) modification to prepare high performance aerogels.

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Introduction of the sulfonic acid group into H-β zeolite to prepare β-SOH bifunctional catalysts for the efficient synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from cellulose. Catalysts characterization, such as XRD, ICP-OES, SEM (Mapping), FTIR, XPS, N adsorption-desorption isotherm, NH-TPD, Py-FTIR demonstrate the sulfonic acid group was successfully grafted onto the β zeolite. A superior HMF yield (59.

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In this work, a series of (x)Hf-β zeolite catalysts were prepared by a simple wet impregnation method and used as bifunctional catalysts with Lewis and Brønsted acid sites for synthesizing 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from cellulose in HO-THF biphasic system. Characterization analysis of (x)Hf-β zeolite catalysts with ICP-OES, N adsorption-desorption isotherm, XRD, FTIR, SEM, NH-TPD and Py-FTIR indicated that the catalysts possessed favorable pore structure, appropriate acid strength and acidity. A superior 86.

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Furfural is a promising renewable platform molecule derived from hemi-cellulose, which can be further converted to fossil fuel alternatives and valuable chemicals due to its highly functionalized molecular structure. This mini-review summarizes the recent progress in the chemo-catalytic and/or bio-catalytic conversion of furfural into high-value-added chemicals, including furfurylamine, C carboxylic acid, , furandicarboxylic acid, furfural alcohol, aromatics, levulinic acid, maleic acid, succinic acid, furoic acid, and cyclopentanone, particularly the advances in the catalytic valorization of furfural into useful chemicals in the last few years. The possible reaction mechanisms for the conversion of furfural into bio-chemicals are summarized and discussed.

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Article Synopsis
  • N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) is a widely used solvent in industrial applications, particularly for extracting acetylene and creating polyacrylonitrile fibers.
  • After usage, DMF generates 5-25% spent liquors that are challenging to recycle using traditional methods like distillation.
  • The review focuses on recent advancements in membrane technologies for separating DMF solutions, highlighting their effectiveness, benefits, limitations, and potential applications in both industry and research.
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  • Bimetal mixed metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) like CZ-BDO, CN-BDO, and NZ-BDO were created and tested for their ability to convert carbon dioxide into cyclic carbonates, with CZ-BDO showing the best performance.
  • Various analytical techniques proved the unique characteristics of these bimetal compounds, which enhance their effectiveness for catalysis.
  • The optimal conditions for the reaction, using CZ-BDO, resulted in dramatic conversion rates of epichlorohydrin (ECH) and demonstrated the potential to efficiently transform other epoxides into cyclic carbonates.
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5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a very important versatile platform compound derived from renewable biomass. The functionalized molecule with an aldehyde group, a hydroxyl group and a furan ring provides great potential for the production of a wide variety of valuable chemicals. This review highlights the latest advances in the catalytic conversion of HMF into value-added chemicals by some important reactions including (1) aerobic oxidation of HMF into furan-based aldehydes and acids such as 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid (HMFCA), 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF), and furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), (2) reductive amination of HMF to amine, (3) the synthesis of aromatics by Diels-alder reaction followed by a dehydration reaction, (4) catalytic reduction of HMF into 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF), and 2,5-dimethyl furan (DMF), (5) catalytic oxidation of HMF into maleic anhydride, and some other important transformations.

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Herein, the environmentally friendly Fe/β zeolite for glucose isomerization to fructose in aqueous media was reported for the first time. The effects of various reaction conditions including reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst dosage, etc. on the isomerization reaction over Fe/β zeolite were studied in detail.

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