Synthesis of olefins by selective hydrodeoxygenation of lignocellulosic ketones

Selective hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignocellulose-derived ketones to olefins is a promising method for upgrading lignocellulosic biomass-derived molecules. Herein, zinc molybdate (ZnMoO₄–E) with a disordered layered stacking structure was first prepared using a facile and environmentally friendly evaporation method and it exhibited outstanding catalytic performance for the selective HDO of lignocellulose-derived ketones to olefins. Using it, 4-heptanone, a representative of lignocellulose-derived ketones, was totally converted, and a high carbon yield of heptene (90%) was achieved at 673 K. On the basis of the characterization results, the outstanding catalytic performance of ZnMoO₄–E was attributed to its porous structure, higher oxygen vacancy (or the Mo⁵⁺ species) concentration and higher acidity. Analogously, ZnMoO₄–E also exhibited good catalytic performances for the selective HDO of other lignocellulose-derived ketones (such as acetone, butanone, 2-pentanone, 3-pentanone, cyclohexanone, acetophenone and 5-nonanone) to their corresponding olefins.