Catalytic roles of metals and supports on hydrodeoxygenation of lignin monomer guaiacol

Hydrodeoxygenation of the lignin monomer guaiacol was performed on the bifunctional catalysts of noble-metals supported on acidic matrices. The catalytic roles of metal nanoparticles and acidic supports were elucidated using the acid-site-measurement-dependent catalysis results, which demonstrated that metals were responsible for the hydrogenation of aromatic rings while metal-deposited acidic supports were indispensable to the deoxygenation of oxygenates. Among various combinations of metals and supports, Rh/SiO2-Al2O3 and Ru/SiO2-Al2O3 exhibited the highest cyclohexane yields.

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► Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of lignin monomer guaiacol to cyclohexane.
► Combinations of noble metals and acidic supports for bifunctional catalysts.
► Product distribution analysis on various catalysts.
► Acidity of catalysts is measured by NH3-TPD.
► Hydrodeoxygenation depends more on catalyst acidity.
► The reaction pathway of guaiacol to cyclohexane is suggested.