Cobalt-yttrium bimetal catalyzed hydrogenolysis of aryl ethers

Catalytic hydrogenolysis of aryl ethers is a green way to utilize lignin-derived biomass resources or aromatic plastics with ether bonds for producing important chemicals and biofuels, but is also a challenging issue. In this work, we synthesized several cobalt-yttrium bimetallic catalysts via a simple co-precipitation method. One of them with a Co/Y molar ratio of 12/1 could catalyze the reaction with good performances in the absence of a promoter under relatively mild conditions, especially as low as 140 ?C. The interaction between Co and Y species contributed to the high activity. The Y species inhibited the reduction of cobalt oxides and enhanced the adsorption capacity of hydrogen. The results of recycling and gram-scale experiments showed the present catalyst possesses great potential for industrial application. The present finding not only builds an efficient Co-Y bimetallic catalyst for hydrogenolysis of aryl ethers emanated from lignin-derived biomass or aromatic plastics with ether bonds, but also widens the application range of the rarely used yttrium metal in catalysis.

Automated summary

Catalytic hydrogenolysis of aryl ethers is a green approach for utilizing lignin-derived biomass resources or aromatic plastics. Researchers synthesized cobalt-yttrium bimetallic catalysts and found that one of them exhibited good catalytic performance under mild conditions. The catalyst showed great potential for industrial application, as demonstrated by recycling and gram-scale experiments.