MOF-derived Ru@ZIF-8 catalyst with the extremely low metal Ru loading for selective hydrogenolysis of C-O bonds in lignin model compounds under mild conditions

• Published in: Catalysis science & technology Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 488 - 496
• Main Authors: Jiang, Wei, Cao, Jing-Pei, Xie, Jin-Xuan, Zhao, Liang, Zhang, Chuang, Zhu, Chen, Zhao, Xiao-Yan, Zhao, Yun-Peng, Zhang, Jian-Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 26.01.2022
• Subjects: Benzyl phenyl ether; Biofuels; Catalysts; Chemical bonds; Cleavage; Dispersion; Electron density; Hydrogenolysis; Lignin; Metal-organic frameworks; Zinc
• ISSN: 2044-4753; 2044-4761
• DOI: 10.1039/d1cy01787j

Lignin hydrogenolysis to produce chemicals and biofuels is a challenge due to the stable C-O ether bond structure. Metal-organic framework (MOF) materials with excellent structural and chemical versatility have received widespread attention. Herein, a highly dispersed Ru metal anchored in functionalised ZIF-8 was fabricated by a general host-guest and reduction strategy. The Ru@ZIF-8 catalyst with a high specific surface area could efficiently promote the C-O bond cleavage of a variety of lignin model compounds under mild conditions. Compared with previous studies, the extremely low metal Ru loading in the Ru@ZIF-8 catalyst achieved a relatively higher activity. The introduction of Ru metal not only improved the dispersion of Zn metal, but also enhanced the electron density on the Zn surface, suggesting a high catalytic performance. It was more conducive for the Ru@ZIF-8 catalyst to exhibit the C-O bond cleavage activity when in the presence of both H 2 and isopropanol. An investigation of the mechanism revealed that the direct hydrogenolysis of benzyl phenyl ether was the main reaction pathway. A MOF-derived Ru@ZIF-8 catalyst with extremely low Ru loading effectively cleaved the C-O bonds of lignin model compounds under mild conditions.