title: Pd/NbOPO₄ multifunctional catalyst for the direct production of liquid alkanes from aldol adducts of furans.
abstract: Great efforts have been made to convert renewable biomass into transportation fuels. Herein, we report the novel properties of NbO(x)-based catalysts in the hydrodeoxygenation of furan-derived adducts to liquid alkanes. Excellent activity and stability were observed with almost no decrease in octane yield (>90% throughout) in a 256 h time-on-stream test. Experimental and theoretical studies showed that NbO(x) species play the key role in C-O bond cleavage. As a multifunctional catalyst, Pd/NbOPO4 plays three roles in the conversion of aldol adducts into alkanes: 1) The noble metal (in this case Pd) is the active center for hydrogenation; 2) NbO(x) species help to cleave the C-O bond, especially of the tetrahydrofuran ring; and 3) a niobium-based solid acid catalyzes the dehydration, thus enabling the quantitative conversion of furan-derived adducts into alkanes under mild conditions.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology, Meilong Road 130, Shanghai 200237 (China).
authors.forename: Qi-Neng
authors.initials: QN
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cuan
authors.forename: Xiao-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xue-Qing
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Guan-Zhong
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yan-Qin
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D005663:Furans / Q000378:metabolism*; D010165:Palladium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D005663:Furans; D010165:Palladium; C039281:furan
keywords: CO bond cleavage; biomass; hydrodeoxygenation; liquid alkanes; multifunctional catalysts