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Updated: Jan 4, 2026
High-throughput Synthesis of Carbohydrates and Functionalization of Polyanhydride Nanoparticles
Published on: July 6, 2012
MoO Nanoparticle Catalysts for d-Glucose Epimerization and Their Electrical Immobilization in a Continuous Flow
Yexin Zhang1,2, Hui Chen1,2, Yijing Gao3
1Key Laboratory of Bio-based Polymeric Materials Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering , Chinese Academy of Sciences , 1219 Zhongguan West Road , Ningbo 315201 , Zhejiang , People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Activity and immobilization of catalysts in liquid-phase reactions seem not to coexist. We report here the excellent activity of an MoO nanoparticle (NP) catalyst for d-glucose epimerization to d-mannose and the electrical immobilization of NPs in a flow reaction. Prior to that, a green and one-pot method to synthesize the MoO NPs (3.05 nm) via oxidizing metal Mo by hydrogen peroxide was presented. The NPs overwhelmed the reported catalysts including epimerase for d-glucose epimerization, originating from a strong interaction between the NPs and the reactant that was demonstrated by ex situ and in situ characterizations and theoretical calculations. The electrically charged feature of NPs inspired us to find a convenient way to "immobilize" them inside an activated carbon bed, and thereby, a flow reactor was assembled. The continuous epimerization was run under 24 V for 16 days with an almost unchanged activity, and only 3.2% of total Mo was lost.
