Titania-supported gold-based nanoparticles efficiently catalyze the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol

Well-defined Au, Rh and AuRh nanoparticles were synthesized by colloidal chemical co-reduction, immobilized on rutile titania nanorods, and evaluated in the gas-phase hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of guaiacol, an important product of lignin pyrolysis. Au/TiO2 appears active, stable and selective for the HDO of guaiacol to phenol in broad temperature and conversion ranges, making this model catalyst the first reported example of gold efficiency for the hydroprocessing of a lignin derivative. Furthermore, upon nanoalloying Au with Rh, the main HDO product at 280 degrees C switches from phenol to cyclohexane, which is tentatively ascribed to a cooperative effect. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.