01883nas a2200157   4500008004100000022001400041245011800055210006900173260011000242300001400352490000700366520117100373100002101544700002901565856013101594       2012                        eng d  a1463-926200aCu-ZrO2 nanocomposite catalyst for selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid and its ester to gamma-valerolactone0 aCuZrO2 nanocomposite catalyst for selective hydrogenation of lev  aTHOMAS GRAHAM HOUSE, SCIENCE PARK, MILTON RD, CAMBRIDGE CB4 0WF, CAMBS, ENGLANDbROYAL SOC CHEMISTRYcFEB  a1064-10720 v143 a<p>Several copper based catalysts were prepared, characterized and evaluated for the hydrogenation of levulinic acid and its methyl ester. Among these, nanocomposites of Cu-ZrO2 and Cu-Al2O3 quantitatively catalyzed the hydrogenation of levulinic acid and its methyl ester to give 90-100% selectivity to gamma-valerolactone in methanol and water respectively. Both the Cu-ZrO2 and Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites were prepared by the co-precipitation method using mixed precursors under controlled conditions. XRD results showed that the main active phase of the reduced Cu-ZrO2 catalyst was metallic copper and particle size was found to be of 10-14 nm by HRTEM. The active metal leaching was at a maximum for the Cu-Al2O3 catalyst in a water medium due to the formation of a copper-carboxylate complex that was blue in colour. Surprisingly, copper leaching was completely suppressed in the case of the Cu-ZrO2 catalyst in methanol in spite of the substrate loading was increased from 5 to 20% w/w. The excellent recyclability of the Cu-ZrO2 catalyst with complete LA conversion and &gt; 90% GVL selectivity makes it a sustainable process having a commercial potential.</p>1 aHengne, Amol, M.1 aRode, Chandrashekhar, V.  uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/cu-zro2-nanocomposite-catalyst-selective-hydrogenation-levulinic-acid-and-its-ester-gamma-0