One-pot hydrodeoxygenation of biomass furan derivatives into decane under mild conditions over Pd/C combined with phosphotungstic acid

Abstract

One-pot hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of biomass furan derivatives into long-chain alkanes remains unclear owing to the complicated reactions at high temperatures. Here, Pd/C combined with phosphotungstic acid (HPW), a strong Brønsted solid acid promoter, was developed to produce decane under mild conditions through the one-pot HDO of δ-furfurylidenelevulinic acid (FDLA). A 93.16% sum yield of alkanes including 89.53% yield of decane was obtained under 3 MPa H₂ at 170 °C for 4 h. The ring-opening and HDO of furans are accomplished at preheating stage, which enable to clarify the complicated reaction pathway. In addition, experimental validations and catalytic characterizations confirm that the synergistic effect of active acid–metal sites plays a critical role in the generation of alkanes via the formation and hydrogenolysis of lactone intermediates to aldehyde/alcohol. This work provides guidance for the one-pot HDO of biomass furan derivatives via the combination of metal catalyst and strong Brønsted solid acid under mild conditions.