γ‐Valerolactone (GVL) is a derivative of lignocellulosic biomass, which has been identified as a key sustainable platform molecule for the production of renewable fuels and fine chemicals. The presence of M δ+ species resulting from the metal–support interactions can serve as a descriptor of the activity and selectivity in this hydrogenation reaction. In this work, Au, Rh, and Ir nanoparticles supported on TiO 2 were prepared and studied in levulinic acid hydrogenation to evaluate how the strong metal–support interaction (SMSI) effect alters their catalytic performance. The catalysts were characterized adequately by AA, HRTEM, TPR, XPS, and DRIFTS techniques. The catalytic activity was studied under relatively mild thermal conditions (90°C) and conventional hydrogen pressure (50 bar). Among these three catalysts, Ir/TiO 2 exhibited the most promising catalytic performance for obtaining the GVL compound without involving the formation of the β‐AL intermediate. This behavior can be attributed to a higher proportion of M δ+ species, which promote the preferential adsorption of the carbonyl group.
Martínez et al. (Thu,) studied this question.