2016 AIChE Annual Meeting
(735d) Direct Observation of Active Sites of Ru Catalyst in Hydrodeoxygenation of Furfural
Authors
In order to directly correlate the strained RuxOy structure to the reaction of furfural HDO we performed in operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy at beamline X18B, NSLS, BNL. All the experiments were performed with a custom-made XAS cell, which was charged with 1wt% furfural-isopropanol and pressurized with 400 psi He, heated up to defined temperatures (140 °C, 160 °C and 180 °C). Based on both near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analyses of the data, we conclude that the confirmed strained RuxOy structure can be directly correlated to the 2-methylfuran (MF) production from furfural via catalytic transfer hydrogenation. However, once the surface is dominated by metallic Ru, MF formation is suppressed.
[1]. Mironenko and Vlachos, J. Am. Chem. Soc, 2016, Accepted