畑大地君、相原健司博士が中心となって行ったY2O3系触媒を用いた均一系塩基フリー条件下でのグルコースからの乳酸合成に関する研究成果がJournal of the Japan Petroleum Institute誌 (JRI)にAcceptされました。Our paper reporting the transformation of glucose to lactic acid over Y2O3 catalysts was accepted in JJPI (JPI).

Methods to catalytic conversion of glucose into lactic acid (LA), which is a versatile platform chemical, have been widely investigated. Herein, a variety of metal oxide catalysts were used for lactic acid (LA) production from glucose under strong homogeneous base-free conditions. Among the metal oxides tested, Y₂O₃ afforded LA in moderate yield (33 %) together with trioses (dihydroxyacetone and glyceraldehyde) and fructose. It was found that the Y₂O₃/SiO₂ catalyst can effectively catalyze the transformation of glucose into LA. Compared to Y₂O₃, the LA yield was remarkably improved (45 %). The characterization results showed that Y(OH)₃ was highly dispersed on the Y₂O₃/SiO₂ catalyst, acting as a Brønsted base and promoting LA formation from pyruvaldehyde (PA). Brønsted acid sites (hydroxyl groups) located at the interface between Y(OH)₃ and SiO₂ promoted the dehydration of trioses to form PA. The acid and base sites on the Y₂O₃/SiO₂ catalyst functioned in concert to ensure that the overall reaction proceeded efficiently.