Selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol toward 1-propanol and 1,2-propanediol via tuning the reduction temperature of (Mn)/Pt/WOx catalysts

Hydrogenolysis of glycerol is an important reaction in biomass valorization, and requires efficient catalysts for selectively removing its hydroxyl groups to yield valuable chemicals, such as 1-propanol and 1,2-propanediol. In this work, we synthesized a porous and non-stoichiometric tungsten oxide (WO x ) by a solvothermal method, and a serious of WO x -supported Pt and Mn ((Mn)Pt/WO x ) catalysts by reduction with H 2 at different temperatures. On these catalysts, the product selectivity in the glycerol hydrogenolysis was significantly influenced by the presence of the Mn species and reduction temperatures. The catalysts after reduction with H 2 at lower temperatures favored the formation of 1-propanol, affording a yield of 88.0 % at 240 °C, while those reduced at higher temperatures facilitated the formation of 1,2-propanediol in a yield of 93.0 % under the same reaction conditions. Extensive analysis of these catalysts by in-situ and ex-situ characterizations showed that the high-temperature reduction led to the formation of MnWO 4 on the Mn/Pt/WO x catalysts and the consequent decrease in the acidic sites and increase in the basic sites, facilitating the alkali-assisted dehydrogenation of glycerol and selective formation of 1,2-propanediol. This study provides fundamental insights into the role of the W and Mn species in tuning the selectivity of the glycerol hydrogenolysis, which will be valuable for designing catalysts towards the valorization of other biomass-based feedstocks.