DEVELOPMENT OF AN OXIDATION CATALYST DERIVED FROM RENEWABLE MATERIALS FOR APPLICATION TO BIOREFINERY

In the framework of green chemistry and circular economy, the objective of this thesis was to develop the synthesis of a new catalyst for alcohol oxidation starting from a renewable material. The chosen starting material was glucose, from which, through a multi-step synthesis, it has been possible to synthesise the new catalyst. It is worth to mention that not only the starting material was chosen focusing on low toxicity and renewable nature, but the whole synthetic process was designed looking for a low environmental impact. Moreover, the synthesized radical, proved suitable for C-H photochemical bond activation, providing an easy way for further functionalization. One of the intermediates of the proposed synthesis, could be a starting material for the synthesis of two more radicals, widening the family of accessible bicyclic radicals from this synthesis. The synthesized radical, as it is, proved to be active for its use as catalyst for alcohol oxidation in mild conditions, giving good results in two model substrates. During the work with the company Matrìca S.p.A., a method for separating and recycling metal catalysts from an aqueous waste solution was developed. The developed method, organic solvent free, ensures recovering of each metal catalyst present in an biorefinery waste solution and their reuse, through a fast and clean process using a cheap clay that was simply mixed with the aqueous solution. Moreover, the used clay, can be used many times without losing its activity. Therefore, the developed method, allows to separate and recover metals from an aqueous solution with a virtually zero waste process.