Bio-oils containing oxygenated phenol-like compounds need to undergo catalytic upgrading via reductive deoxygenation to form high energy density transportation fuels. Previous research from our group identified Ru/TiO2 as an effective catalyst for hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of phenol to benzene. A combination of experimental and computational approaches suggested that the remarkable direct-deoxygenation selectivity of Ru/TiO2 was due to the amphoteric properties of TiO2. This facilitated both the heterolytic cleavage of H2 and protonation of the substrate, which weakened the C-O bond.[1] In this work, we explored the catalytic activity of bimetallic RuxNi1-x/TiO2 catalysts and the importance of rutile-rutile interactions between the TiO2. support and the RuO2 precursor. Ru/TiO2 catalysts with rutile only and mixed rutile/anatase TiO2 supports showed high HDO activity, while pure anatase support catalysts demonstrated negligible activity. Nickel was incorporated into Ru/TiO2 catalyst to reduce the amount of Ru and make the catalysts more economically and environmentally efficient. A bimetallic catalyst containing a 1:1 ratio of Ru to Ni was found to be an effective catalyst, yielding over 90% deoxygenated products in HDO reactions with phenol. Although highly effective in deoxygenation, the bimetallic catalysts showed less selectivity for the direct deoxygenation product benzene.

Highly selective Ru/TiO2 catalysts for HDO of phenolic compound: Effects of support structure and partial substitution of nickel for ruthenium

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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