Hydrodeoxygenation of Vanillin over Ni2P/Zeolite Catalysts: Role of Surface Acid Density

Developing efficient catalysts for biomass hydrodeoxygenation into high-quality biofuels and chemicals is a current topic of great interest. In this study, Ni 2 P catalysts supported on different zeolites (MCM-41, HY, Hβ) were fabricated for vanillin hydrodeoxygenation by one-pot method instead of temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). The prepared catalysts were characterized using XRD, XPS, NH 3 -TPD and N 2 physisorption. The results showed that the support has a significant influence on the reactivity of the Ni 2 P-based catalyst. The Ni 2 P/HY catalyst contains a higher acid site density, which leads to the almost complete conversion of vanillin to the quantitative yield of 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (MMP) via direct hydrogenolysis path at 220 °C, 5 h and 2 MPa of H 2 . Graphical Abstract