Davide Esposito

Chemical Conversion of Sugars to Lactic Acid by Alkaline Hydrothermal Processes

Some like it hot: Lactic acid is an important commodity chemical that is mainly used in the food industry or for the manufacture of biodegradable plastics. A highly efficient strategy for the conversion of carbohydrates from biomass to lactic acid through alkaline hydrolysis in superheated water is presented.

Nitro Lignin-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Carbon as an Efficient and Sustainable Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction

The use of lignin as a precursor for the synthesis of materials is nowadays considered very interesting from a sustainability standpoint. Here we illustrate the synthesis of a micro-, meso-, and macroporous nitrogen-doped carbon (NDC) using lignin extracted from beech wood via alkaline hydrothermal treatment and successively functionalized via aromatic nitration. The so obtained material is thus carbonized in the eutectic salt melt KCl/ZnCl2. The final NDC shows an excellent activity as electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction.

Sponge‐like Nickel and Nickel Nitride Structures for Catalytic Applications

A safe and simple method to fabricate air-stable nickel nitride and nickel embedded in carbon and nitrogen matrix, with high surface area for catalytic applications, is presented. The new synthesis employs molten inorganic salts as the reaction media. The use of salt melt opens new possibilities for safe, simple, and cheap synthesis of metal nitrides and metals for energy-related applications.

Continuous Reductive Amination of Biomass-Derived Molecules over Carbonized Filter Paper-Supported FeNi Alloy

This paper reports the continuous reductive amination of different molecules, including biomass-related compounds, over carbon-supported FeNi nanoparticles obtained on the basis of inexpensive and abundant metal precursors and cellulose. A biorefinery case study for the preparation of pyrrolidones via acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of glucose followed by reductive amination of the obtained levulinic acid is described.

An integrated strategy for the conversion of cellulosic biomass into γ-valerolactone

An integrated method for the production of γ-valerolactone from cellulosic biomass is presented here. A combination of acidic water hydrolysis of the biomass followed by extraction with methyltetrahydrofuran is used to generate a levulinic acid feed, which is further hydrogenated into the platform chemical γ-valerolactone using RANEY® nickel as a catalyst.

FeNi nanoparticles with carbon armor as sustainable hydrogenation catalysts: towards biorefineries†

Carbon supported FeNi nanoparticles were prepared by carbothermal reduction of cellulose filter paper impregnated with Fe and Ni salts. The resulting carbon enwrapped alloy nanoparticles were employed as an efficient catalyst for the continuous hydrogenation of molecules obtainable from different fractions of lignocellulosic biomass. Scale-up and time on stream tests over 80 hours proved the catalyst stable and durable of over a wide range of conditions.

Hydrothermal decarboxylation of amino acid derived imidazolium zwitterions: a sustainable approach towards ionic liquids

Ionic liquids were prepared via hydrothermal decarboxylation of zwitterionic imidazolium compounds derived from amino acids and carbohydrate related dicarbonyl compounds. Two of these ionic liquids were used successfully as solvents in the Heck reaction and for the dissolution of cellulose.

Towards the synthesis of a Yersinia pestis cell wall polysaccharide: enantioselective synthesis of an L-glycero-D-manno-heptose building block

A short and enantioselective de novo synthesis of an L-glycero-D-manno-heptose building block for the total synthesis of a Yersinia pestis cell wall polysaccharide is described.

Benzoxaborole as a new chemotype for carbonic anhydrase inhibition.

In this paper we report the synthesis of a series of benzoxaborole derivatives, their inhibition properties against some carbonic anhydrases (CAs), recognized as important drug targets, and the characterization of the binding mode of these molecules to the CA active site. Our data provide the first experimental evidence that benzoxaboroles can be efficiently used as CA inhibitors.

Renewable pyridinium ionic liquids from the continuous hydrothermal decarboxylation of furfural-amino acid derived pyridinium zwitterions

Fully renewable pyridinium ionic liquids were synthesised via the hydrothermal decarboxylation of pyridinium zwitterions derived from furfural and amino acids in flow. The functionality of the resulting ionic liquid (IL) can be tuned by choice of different amino acids as well as different natural carboxylic acids as the counterions. A representative member of this new class of ionic liquids was successfully used for the synthesis of ionogels and as a solvent for the Heck coupling.