Selective hydrogenolysis of C-O bonds in lignin model compounds and Kraft lignin over highly efficient NixCoyAl catalysts

• Published in: Molecular catalysis 2023-08, Vol.547, p.113334, Article 113334
• Main Authors: Fu, Zong-Pin, Zhao, Yun-Peng, Wu, Fa-Peng, Xie, Jin-Xuan, Qiu, Le-Le, Xiao, Jian, Liang, Jing, Bai, Yong-Hui, Liu, Fang-Jing, Cao, Jing-Pei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Hydrogenolysis; Isopropanol; Lignin; Model compounds; NixCoyAl catalyst
• ISSN: 2468-8231; 2468-8231
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mcat.2023.113334

•Ni0.5Co1.5Al −600 display excellent catalytic activity for cleaving CO bond.•Isopropanol as hydrogen source is more conducive to CO bond breaking.•The β-benzylic-H atom in PPE promotes the cleavage of Caliphatic-O bond.•The Ni-to-Co molar ratio affects the surface species of NixCoyAl catalyst. The selective hydrogenolysis of CO bonds is critical for the effective valorization of lignin. Herein, we synthesized a series of highly efficient NixCoyAl-T catalysts by a coprecipitation-calcination-reduction method and evaluated their catalytic hydrogenolysis performance towards the CO bonds of lignin-derived aryl ether, using isopropanol as the hydrogen donor source. The results revealed that the Ni0.5Co1.5Al-600 catalyst displayed superior activity and its catalytic performances were strongly influenced by the Ni/Co molar ratios and calcination temperatures. The enhanced dispersion of metal particles and the electron transfer from Ni to Co in Ni0.5Co1.5Al-600 catalyst facilitated the cleavage of CO bonds in lignin model compounds. Furthermore, the β-benzyl-H atom in 2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanol (PPE) also contributes to the cleavage of Caliphatic-O bonds. Under optimized reaction conditions (180 ℃, reaction time 2 h), PPE was completely converted over the Ni0.5Co1.5Al-600 catalyst, and the yield of ethylbenzene and cyclohexanol reached 95.91wt% and 85.73wt%, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the NixCoyAl-T catalytic system holds great promise for the production of valuable chemicals from lignin under mild conditions. [Display omitted]