A multi-functional Ru Mo bimetallic catalyst for ultra-efficient C3 alcohols production from liquid phase hydrogenolysis of glycerol

Ru and Mo bimetallic catalysts supported on active carbon modified by phosphotungstic acid (PW) were designed and applied in glycerol hydrogenolysis reaction. The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized and the presence of active sites was investigated from the perspective of the glycerol hydrogenolysis performance. The MoOx is highly selective for the C-O bond cleavage of glycerol mole-cules, which can reasonably regulate the strong C-C bond cleavage activity of Ru nanoparticles. By using sequential deposition of Ru and Mo supported on mesoporous PW-C, the characterization results show that the combination of isolated low-valence MoOx with metal Ru particles can form MoOx-Ru-PW , which provides highly catalytic activity toward C-O bond cleavage, selectively producing more C3 alco-hols (mainly 1,2(3)-propanediol). The glycerol conversion of 1% Mo/Ru/PW-C catalyst was 59.6%, the selectivity of C3 alcohol was 96.1%, and the selectivity of propanediol (1,2(3)-propanediol) was 94.9%. It is noteworthy that the selectivity of 1,3-propanediol reached 20.7% when the PW was 21.07% (mass). This study provides experimental evidence for the tandem dehydration and hydrogenation mechanism of the multifunctional Mo/Ru/PW-C catalyst.(c) 2021 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Ru and Mo bimetallic catalysts supported on active carbon modified by phosphotungstic acid were designed and applied in glycerol hydrogenolysis reaction. The study found that MoOx exhibited high selectivity for the C-O bond cleavage of glycerol molecules and could regulate the C-C bond cleavage activity of Ru nanoparticles. The sequential deposition of Ru and Mo on mesoporous PW-C resulted in the formation of MoOx-Ru-PW catalyst with high catalytic activity.