An important challenge for the future will be to provide renewable transportation fuels without greenhouse gas emissions. One method is the conversion of biomass to fuel-grade hydrocarbons using renewable energy. An important step in this process is the hydrogenation of biomass molecules such as lignin (modeled in this work as phenol). To have a renewable process, the hydrogenation step can either be done using renewably-derived hydrogen, or through direct electrocatalytic hydrogenation powered by renewable electricity. Here, we discuss the mechanism of thermal catalytic hydrogenation and electrocatalytic hydrogenation of phenol on platinum and rhodium surfaces, and investigation of the surface coverages of hydrogen and phenol through in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy. In addition, we present methods to prevent deactivation at high temperatures that would otherwise inhibit the high rates necessary for these reactions. We also present the effect of different reaction conditions (e.g pH, as well as the effect of different functional groups on the phenol species) on the turnover frequencies, and present explanations for the effects based on the binding strength of the hydrogen and organic substrates to the metal surfaces. Through this understanding of both the thermal catalytic and electrocatalytic pathways we can propose new materials that can have increased activity for these important reactions.

Electrocatalytic and thermal catalytic phenol hydrogenation over platinum and rhodium

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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