Catalyst Design for Selective Hydrodeoxygenation of Glycerol to 1,3-Propanediol

Biomass-derived glycerol is an ideal feedstock for replacing fossil resources in manufacturing propanediols (PDOs) via selective hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) because of the high atomic economy. However, it remains a great challenge to design a competitive HDO catalyst for selectively converting glycerol into 1,3-PDO owing to the higher thermodynamic stability of 1,2-PDO. In this work, theoretical analysis and first principles calculations were adopted for the design and development of an efficient HDO catalyst. The designed Pt/W/beta catalyst has low Pt and W loadings, and exhibits high performance in the HDO reaction with glycerol conversion (84.2%), 1,3-PDO selectivity (46.1%), and total C-3 alcohol selectivity (>90%) under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, experimental structure-performance relationship of the HDO catalyst was found to be consistent with our first principles prediction, confirming the important role of the interfacial structure in the HDO reaction.