One-pot conversion of cellulosic sugars into methyl lactate using hierarchical Sn-MFI zeolite with intracrystalline mesoporosity

Cellulosic sugars derived from lignocellulose are the most abundant and inexpensive raw materials used for the production of methyl lactate (MLA). In this study, hierarchical Sn-MFI zeolite with intracrystalline mesoporosity was developed, capable of catalyzing the one-pot conversion of cellulosic sugars into MLA in a CH₃OH/H₂O mixture. The MLA yield from glucose using the hierarchical Sn-MFI zeolite was almost twice as high as that using the conventional microporous Sn-MFI zeolite. This superior catalytic performance was attributed to the reduced diffusion limitation of glucose within the hierarchical Sn-MFI catalyst, which possessed significant intercrystalline mesoporosity. Additionally, the hierarchical Sn-MFI catalyst was recycled for five reaction runs of the one-pot conversion of glucose without an obvious loss of activity, indicating excellent stability and reusability and broadening the scope of carbohydrates used to obtain MLA.