Catalytic Conversions of Isocyanate to Urea and Glucose to Levulinate Esters over Mesoporous α-Ti(HPO4)2. H2O in Green Media

We have described a facile solvothermal synthesis of a sheet-like α-Ti(HPO4)2. H2O nanomaterial. The material holds 10.7 nm nanoparticles along with ordered mesopores throughout its hexagonal building blocks. The material possesses 3.86 eV bandgap energy and works as an efficient catalyst for the selective synthesis of ureas from a broad range of isocyanates in presence of H2O at room temperature with high product yield (up to 93%) and TOF value up to 15.25 h-1. The α-Ti(HPO4)2. H2O nanomaterial also catalytically converts glucose to levulinic acid (LA) and subsequently LA to alkyl levulinates in presence of different alcohols with high product yield (up to 98%) and TOF value up to 43.00 h-1. Furthermore, all the reactions are performed in green and facile catalytic conditions without using any hazardous solvent. The α-Ti(HPO4)2. H2O catalyst material is also found to be reusable for manifold cycles for all the reactions keeping its catalytic efficiency along with its structural and morphological characteristics unaffected, supporting its industrial relevance. ..