Selective Hydrogenolysis of Dibenzofuran over Highly Efficient Pt/MgO Catalysts to o-Phenylphenol

Direct selective hydrogenolysis of dibenzofuran (DBF) derived from coal and shale oil to a value-added chemical, ortho-phenylphenol (OPP), with high selectivity (80%) and yield (48%) has been achieved over Pt/MgO at 400 °C and 1.0 MPa by controlling the C–O bond cleavage as well as minimizing the extent of hydrogenation of aromatic rings. Meanwhile, Pt/SiO2, Pt/Al2O3, and Pt/MgO/Al2O3 catalysts were used for the DBF hydrogenolysis and showed lower selectivity for OPP. The influence of reaction parameters has been studied to unveil the optimal reaction conditions. And the phenomenon of OPP dehydrogenation is found over various catalysts for the hydrogenation reaction of OPP. Extensive reactions and catalyst characterizations demonstrated that the OPP selectivity and the dehydrogenation of OPP to DBF follows the order of supports basicity: MgO-900 > MgO > SiO2 > MgO/Al2O3 > Al2O3, which shows that the acid–base properties of supports impact the adsorption and desorption behaviors of DBF and OPP, and results in the disparity of OPP selectivity and the dehydrogenation of OPP. Finally, a plausible reaction pathway and mechanistic understanding are proposed.