Catalytic hydroconversion of two lignin-related model compounds over Ni/CeO2

Ni/CeO 2 with medium-strong acidity was prepared by in - situ carbon templating (ISCT) and reduction with H 2 . Oxydibenzene (ODB) and benzyloxybenzene (BOB) were used as lignin-related model compounds (LRMCs). Over Ni/CeO 2 , ODB was completely converted into cyclohexane ( CH I ) under initial hydrogen pressure (IHP) of 2 MPa at 160 °C for 2 h and complete conversion of BOB to CH I and methylcyclohexane (MCH) was achieved under IHP of 2 MPa at 120 °C for 1.5 h. H … H transfer to the benzene rings (BRs) in the LRMCs and phenol from BOB hydrocracking results in the BR hydrogenation, while H + transfer to the oxygen atom in BOB, hydrogenated ODB, and BOB-derived cyclohexanol ( CH II ) leads to the >CH-O- bond cleavage and subsequent dehydration of the resulting protonated CH II (PCH II ) . In addition, Ni/CeO 2 exhibits an excellent reusability.