Bimetal Co8Ni2 catalyst supported on chitin-derived N-containing carbon for upgrade of biofuels

Abstract

Non-noble bimetallic Co8Ni2/NC nanoalloy catalyst is prepared through impregnation of cobalt and nickel precursors on nitrogen doped carbon derived from sustainable chitin. Compared to monometallic Co or Ni catalyst and other reported materials, Co8Ni2/NC catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity, high selectivity and good stability towards vanillin hydrodeoxygenation to obtain 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (MMP), a promising way of upgrade biofuel. Characterizations indicate that the active f.c.c. phase of metal alloy can be generated under the induction of nickel component. Kinetic experiment suggests that the activation energy vanillin alcohol over bimetal catalysts are lower than pure nickel or cobalt catalyst, confirming that the synergetic effect between cobalt and nickel also improve its higher catalytic activity.