Design of a highly active TiO2-supported Ni2P@C catalyst with special flower-like radial channels for quick p-cresol hydrodeoxygenation

Efficient hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) catalysts are of great important for converting biomass to value-added chemicals and fuels. Herein, a novel strategy was proposed for preparing a highly dispersed carbon-encapsulated flower-like radial channels TiO2-supported catalysts (Ni2P@C/FLRC-TiO2). The effect of P and pore structure of the TiO2 support on the p-cresol HDO performance was investigated. An appropriate P content improves the HDO performance by increasing the acidity, while the open radial channels of Ni2P@C/FLRC-TiO2 greatly reduces the reaction time and enhance the HDO activity by promoting rapid mass transfer and accessibility of active sites. The highly dispersed carbon-encapsulated Ni2P@C nanoparticles further improve the HDO activity and stability. Among the prepared catalysts, Ni2P@C/FLRC-TiO2-1 (initial NaH2PO2:Ni-MOF/FLRC-TiO2 mass ratio = 1) exhibited the best HDO performance, yielding 100 % of the p-cresol deoxygenation products within 1.5 h under mild conditions. The excellent HDO performance originates from the synergy between FLRC-TiO2 radial channels and the Ni2P@C nanoparticles.