Selective hydrogenation of lignocellulosic biomass over single-atom catalysts

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass refining for fuels and chemicals is regarded as a promising alternative for fossil refining, which is significant for the sustainable development of the society. However, biomass refining can be challenging because of the existence of multiple chemical bonds, leading to a variety of products with relatively low selectivity. With the structural uniqueness, single-atom catalysts (SACs) as a new frontier technique have displayed outstanding merits (high activity, selectivity, etc.) for biomass refining, especially for selective hydrogenation reactions. In this perspective, we give a concise account of the recent progresses on the hydrogenation reactions of lignocellulosic biomass or the derived feedstocks using SACs, and the catalyst structure, reaction conditions, and mechanism aspects were illustrated according to the substrate species (furfural, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF), etc.).