Aqueous phase partial hydrodeoxygenation of lignin-derived phenols over Al2O3-SiO2 microspheres supported RuMn multifunctional catalyst: Synergic effect among Ru, Mn and Al2O3-SiO2 support

Herein, RuMn/Al2O3-SiO2 multifunctional catalyst was prepared and efficiently converted lignin-derived phenols into cyclohexanol by aqueous partial hydrodeoxygenation (HDO). The optimal RuMn/Al2O3-SiO2 (Ru/Mn = 2) catalyst achieved 96.8% of cyclohexanol yield with 100% guaiacol conversion under mild reaction conditions (180 C and 2.0 MPa H2) for 4 h, with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 861.1 h-1, which is better than most results reported. The high performance of RuMn/Al2O3-SiO2 was attributed to the synergic effect of highly dispersed Ru nanoparticles with small size (1.25 nm), the microsphere structure, the appropriate acid sites from Al2O3-SiO2 and acid-base sites from MnOx.

Automated summary

In this study, a RuMn/Al2O3-SiO2 multifunctional catalyst was prepared and efficiently converted lignin-derived phenols into cyclohexanol through aqueous partial hydrodeoxygenation (HDO). The high performance of the RuMn/Al2O3-SiO2 catalyst can be attributed to the synergistic effects of highly dispersed Ru nanoparticles with small size, the microsphere structure, appropriate acid sites from Al2O3-SiO2, and acid-base sites from MnOx.