Mixed Matrix Pt-Carbon Nanofiber Polyethersulfone Catalytic Membranes for Glucose Dehydrogenation

The advancement of technologies for producing chemicals and materials from non-fossil resources is of critical importance. An illustrative example is the dehydrogenation of glucose, to yield gluconic acid, a specialty chemical. In this study, we propose an innovative production route for gluconic acid while generating H₂ as a co-product. Our concept involves a dual-function membrane, serving both as a catalyst for glucose dehydrogenation into gluconic acid and as a means to efficiently remove the produced H₂ from the reaction mixture. To achieve this two membranes were developed, one catalytically active and one dense aimed at H₂ removal. The catalytic membrane showed significant activity, yielding 16 % gluconic acid (t=120 min) with a catalyst selectivity of 93 % and stable performance over five consecutive cycles. Incorporating the H₂ separating membrane showed the significance of H₂ removal in driving the reaction forward. Its inclusion led to a twofold increase in gluconic acid yield, aligning with Le Chatelier's principles. As a future prospect the two layers can be combined into a dual-layer membrane which opens the way for a new production route to simultaneously produce gluconic acid and H₂, using high-throughput reactors such as hollow-fiber systems.