WOx promoted nickel catalyst for hydrodeoxygenation of m-cresol

The effect of decorating the surface of a Ni catalyst with WOx on its activity and selectivity for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of m-cresol was investigated. The reaction of m-cresol in the presence of H2 over an unmodified Ni/C catalyst produced both toluene and methylcyclohexane as well as a range of non-HDO products in which the ring had been hydrogenated. This catalyst was also active for C-C bond hydrogenolysis at temperatures above 600 K. In contrast, modifying the Ni with a sub-monolayer amount of WOx deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) enhanced the m-cresol HDO selectivity with toluene and methylcyclohexane being the only products produced indicating that the reaction proceeds via direct HDO pathway on this catalyst. XPS in this and previous studies indicate that synergistic interactions between the WOx and the Ni help maintain a high concentration of oxygen vacancies in the monolayer WOx species which are the active sites for the HDO reaction.