Hydrodeoxygenation of 1,2-decanediol to produce 1-decanol over Cu/SiO2-Al2O3 catalyst

Abstract

Liquid-phase catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of 1,2-decanediol (1,2-DDO) to form 1-decanol was performed over various non-noble metal-loaded acidic catalysts, and Cu loaded on amorphous SiO2-Al2O3 exhibited a high catalytic activity for the formation of 1-decanol. A high 1-decanol selectivity of 84.7% with a complete 1,2-DDO conversion was obtained within only 15 min over the Cu/SiO2-Al2O3 at 250 °C under 10 MPa H2 pressure. The temperature at 250 °C and the H2 pressure higher than 3 MPa were conducive to the efficient production of 1-decanol from 1,2-DDO. In contrast to the previously reported noble metal catalysts, Cu/SiO2-Al2O3 required a relatively high reaction temperature, while an extremely high 1-decanol productivity of 78 mmol gcat−1 h−1 could be achieved. Meanwhile, the hydrodeoxygenation of 1,2-decanediol over Cu/SiO2-Al2O3 proceeded via a reaction mechanism in which decanal was formed as the intermediate. In addition, the Cu/SiO2-Al2O3 catalyst was reusable at least five times without serious deactivation.