School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-6-2025
Abstract
In this study, a vanadyl phthalocyanine was synthesized and characterized using XRD, FTIR, and XPS, confirming the successful metalation of the phthalocyanine ring. XRD analysis showed the vanadyl phthalocyanine crystallized in the P-1 crystal lattice, with unit cell parameters a = 12.058 Å, b = 12.598 Å, and c = 8.719 Å, and the lattice angels were 96.203°, 94.941°, and 68.204°. FTIR spectroscopy supported the metalation by the disappearance of the N-H stretch of the non-metalated phthalocyanine. The vanadyl phthalocyanine was tested as a heterogenous catalyst for the conversion of fructose into methyl levulinate in H2SO4–methanol and HCl–methanol systems. The H2SO4–methanol reaction system catalyzed with the vanadyl phthalocyanine, and a zeroth-order rate constant of 1.10 × 10−6 M/s was observed, which was 1.74 times faster than sulfuric acid alone. The HCl–methanol system showed a zeroth-order of reaction with a rate constant of 2.33 × 10−6 M/s, which was 1.3 times faster than the HCl–methanol alone. While the HCl–methanol system showed a faster reaction rate, product distribution favored methyl levulinate formation in the H2SO4–methanol system. The main products identified were methyl levulinate and hepta-2,4-dienoic acid methyl ester, with a minor amount of hydroxymethylfurfural formed. These results suggest that vanadyl phthalocyanine can be effectively used as a catalyst to increase the rate of fructose conversion to methyl levulinate in either H2SO4 or HCl–methanol.
Recommended Citation
Luna, Juan, Mataz Alcoutlabi, Elizabeth Fletes, Helia Morales, and Jason G. Parsons. 2025. "Vanadyl Phthalocyanine as a Low-Temperature/Low-Pressure Catalyst for the Conversion of Fructose to Methyl Levulinate" Molecules 30, no. 9: 2065. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30092065
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Title
Molecules
DOI
10.3390/molecules30092065
Comments
© 2025 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).