Tungsten oxide decorated silica-supported iridium catalysts combined with HZSM-5 toward the selective conversion of cellulose to C alkanes.

Herein, WO-decorated Ir/SiO (W/Ir = 0.06) and HZSM-5 were coupled to selectively convert microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) into C alkanes. A 92.8% yield of liquid alkanes including an 85.3% yield of C alkanes was produced at 210 °C. Cellulose hydrolysis, glucose hydrogenation and sorbitol hydrodeoxygenation were integrated to produce alkanes via a sorbitol route. Ir-WO/SiO showed high performance for hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation reactions after hydrolysis catalyzed by HZSM-5. The intimate contact between WO and Ir enhanced the synergistic interaction through the electron transfer from Ir to WO. The interaction strengthened the reduction capability of Ir for hydrogenations, as well as improved the adsorption and activation of C-O bonds on reduced WO for deoxygenations. The monotungstate WO species provided moderate Lewis acids to cooperate with Ir to accelerate hydrodeoxygenations with alleviated retro-aldol condensation to yield more C alkanes.