Directed Synthesis of Bio-based Cresol Using Magnetic NiFe₂O₄@Biochar Catalyst

Abstract

Developing green and efficient methods to acquire lignocellulose-based chemicals with high added value is beneficial for facilitating green chemistry and sustainable development. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that bio-based cresol, a noteworthy high-value chemical, is able to be directionally prepared from lignocellulosic biomass. This new controllable transformation was materialized by uniting catalytic pyrolysis of lignocellulose to toluene intermediate and catalytic hydroxylation of toluene intermediate to bio-based cresol. This work also developed a novel highly active magnetic catalyst [NiFe₂O₄@Biochar(HTR)], which was synthesized via hydrothermal-reduction (HTR) method using ethylene glycol reductant. The NiFe₂O₄@Biochar(HTR) catalyst exhibited high cresol selectivity (80.2%) and high cresol yield (50.7%) in the synthesis process of cresol. It was found that introducing biochar support into Ni-Fe composite metal oxide catalyst enhanced hydroxyl radical formation and bio-based cresol synthesis. Based on catalyst characterizations and hydroxyl radical analysis, presumable reaction mechanism for bio-based cresol synthesis was proposed.

Keywords

Lignocellulosic biomass / Bio-based cresol / Selective hydroxylation / Aromatic intermediate / NiFe₂O₄@Biochar(HTR) catalyst

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RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Jilin University, The Editorial Department of Chemical Research in Chinese Universities and Springer-Verlag GmbH