Catalytic performance of 2D-Mxene nano-sheets for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin-derived model compounds

Abstract

2D Mxene nano-sheets (Ti3C2Tx) were investigated for the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol as a lignin-derived model compound. The catalyst was characterized by TEM, XPS, Raman spectroscopy and TPR. The acid-base properties were measured by TPD-NH3 and TPRe-MeOH. Phenol was the main product obtained, and methylanisole was observed as the second main product. The study of Anisole conversion shows that methylanisole was likely obtained by a bimolecular transalkylation. Such formation, which has only been reported over acid catalysts, was associated to the combined action of acid-base pairs identified.