LAUSR

Mechanistic pathways of catalytic hydrodeoxygenation determine the portfolios of biomass-derived platform chemicals. Bifunctional catalysts involving active metals on acidic supports are known to catalyze the hydrogenation of unsaturated chemical bonds on the metal surfaces and dehydration at acid sites of the supports. For poorly active hydrogenation metals such as Au, the effect of support became crucially important. In this work, the catalytic functions and the associated active sites in anatase TiO2 (TiO2-A)-supported Au nanoparticles (Au/TiO2-A) for hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation are determined in the conversion of catechol, hydroquinone, and other select oxygenate molecules under hydrogen pressure. Four catalytic functions are identified on Au/TiO2-A; these are labeled I–IV. While the Au/TiO2-A exhibited a single-site hydrodeoxygenation function [I] at a reduced TiOx site that converts catechol directly to phenol via spilt-over hydrogen from Au nanoparticles as the only product, hydroquinone c...