Highly selective bimetallic FeMoP catalyst for C-O bond cleavage of aryl ethers

Bimetallic FeMo phosphide is shown to be a highly selective catalyst for selectively breaking C-O bonds in a lignin model compound as well as fully deoxygenating the resulting phenolic compounds. The combination of depolymerization and deoxygenation allows a single catalyst to potentially upgrade biomass into transportation fuels while conserving hydrogen.95