Rate enhancement by Cu in NixCu1-x/ZrO2 bimetallic catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation of stearic acid

Christoph Denk, Sebastian Foraita, Libor Kovarik, Kelsey Stoerzinger, Yue Liu, Eszter Baráth, Johannes A. Lercher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hydrodeoxygenation of stearic acid on Ni/ZrO2 to n-heptadecane occurs via the reduction to 1-octadecanal, followed by decarbonylation of the aldehyde to n-heptadecane. Stearic acid binds stronger than 1-octadecanal on Ni, causing decarbonylation to start only once stearic acid is almost fully converted. This first step is enhanced by addition of Cu either in the form of Cu/ZrO2 or in the form of a ZrO2 supported NixCu1-x nano-alloy. Cu has not only a higher activity for the reduction of stearic acid, it also increases the activity of Ni for decarbonylation of 1-octadecanal by increasing the electron density of Ni in the bimetal catalyst. The combination of these two effects leads to high activity of Ni-Cu bimetallic catalysts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2620-2629
Number of pages10
JournalCatalysis Science and Technology
Volume9
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Rate enhancement by Cu in NixCu1-x/ZrO2 bimetallic catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation of stearic acid'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this