Construction of highly active Pt-WOx interfacial sites for efficient hydrogenolysis of fatty acids to alkanes

Redox-active WOₓ support regulates Pt dispersion and metal–support interactions. • Abundant Pt–WOₓ interfacial sites enable efficient fatty acid hydrogenolysis. • The high activity results from the synergy between Pt, oxygen vacancy and Brønsted acid sites. • The studies provide insights into the active sites of hydrogenolysis of carboxylic acids. The uniform dispersion of noble metals on the surface of metal oxides has attracted increasing attention because it can enrich interfacial active sites and often induce unexpected catalytic behaviors. While extensive efforts have been devoted to enhancing metal dispersion, the role of the support itself remains comparatively underexplored. Here, we report how the redox properties of the support (WO 2.72 ) can be used to improve the metal dispersion and stability, enabling remarkably efficient hydrogenolysis of bio-derived fatty acids. Using stearic acid as a model substrate, the Pt/WO x (R) catalyst, synthesized through the in-situ reduction of WO 2.72 , achieved 95% conversion with 97% selectivity to n -octadecane ( n -C 18 ) under mild conditions of 200 °C and 1.0 MPa H 2 . In sharp contrast, the conventional Pt/WO x (C) catalyst prepared from WO 3 exhibited negligible activity, affording only 5% conversion under identical conditions. Detailed characterization revealed that Pt nanoparticles were highly dispersed on the WO x support surface in Pt/WO x (R), generating abundant Pt−WO x interfacial sites that results in high catalytic activity. Moreover, due to the anchoring effect of defective WO x support on the Pt species, this allows the Pt/WO x (R) catalysts to retain its activity over three cycles without obvious deactivation. This research presents an effective strategy and valuable mechanistic insights for the rational design of highly efficient hydrodeoxygenation catalysts with abundant metal-support interfacial sites. Download: Download high-res image (204KB) Download: Download full-size image