Mesoporous ZSM-5 Zeolite-Supported Ru Nanoparticles as Highly Efficient Catalysts for Upgrading Phenolic Biomolecules

Zeolite-based catalysts have been widely used in the conversion of biomass recently, but the catalytic yields of the desired products are strongly limited by the relatively small micropores of zeolite. Here, we reported a hierarchically porous ZSM-5 zeolite with micropore and b-axis-aligned mesopore-supported Ru nanoparticles (Ru/HZSM-5-OM) that are highly efficient for the hydrodeoxygenation of both small and bulky phenolic biomolecules to the corresponding alkanes. Compared with the conventional ZSM-5 zeolite-supported Ru catalyst, the high catalytic activities and alkane selectivities over Ru/HZSM-5-OM are attributed to the abundant exposed acidic sites in HZSM-5-OM with open mesopores. This feature is potentially important for future phenolic bio-oil upgrading.