Hydrodeoxygenation of Guaiacol Catalyzed by ZrO₂-CeO₂-Supported Nickel Catalysts with High Loading

Ni/ZrO₂-CeO₂ catalysts with high loading of nickel have been prepared by the coprecipitation method and employed to investigate the catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) performance of guaiacol. The materials obtained were characterized using N₂ adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, H₂-TPR, CO chemisorption, and NH₃-TPD. For Ni/ZrO₂-CeO₂ catalysts, the formation of the ZrO₂-CeO₂ solid solutions enhances the dispersion of the metal Ni. The oxygen vacancies resulting from Ce³⁺ species in Ni/ZrO₂-CeO₂ promote the adsorption and activation of the oxygen-containing group in guaiacol molecules and thereby improve the ability of the catalyst to break the C-O bond. The addition of ZrO₂ increases the number of acidic sites of the catalysts. These factors synergistically enhance the HDO performance of the catalysts.