Synergistic effect between Ru-Co alloy and versatile support for highly efficient hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol to cyclohexanol

Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation is a plausible route to upgrade the quality of biomass energy sources. Herein, a series of Ru-Co alloy catalysts (Ru-Co/TiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 ) were prepared and applied in guaiacol hydrodeoxygenation to cyclohexanol. It was found that Ru-Co nanoparticles with average size of about 8.67 nm were uniformly dispersed on TiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 support. It was verified that Co doping led to the formation of electron-rich Ru and hence promoted the desorption of active hydrogen, while the constructed TiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 support possessed abundant oxygen vacancies and acidic sites, which facilitated adsorption and hydrogenolysis of −OCH 3 functional group. 5Ru-5Co/TiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 catalyst gives the best catalytic performance of >99% guaiacol conversion and 94% selectivity to cyclohexanol. In addition, the strong interactions between Ru-Co nanoparticles and TiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 could significantly inhibit aggregation and leaching of Ru-Co nanoparticles during the reaction. The research results will provide reference to design highly efficient and stable bimetallic catalysts in converting lignin-derived bio-oils.