Design of a highly active TiO 2-supported Ni 2 P@C catalyst with special flower-like radial channels for quick p-cresol hydrodeoxygenation

Efficient hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) catalysts are of great important for converting biomass to value-added chemicals and fuels. Herein, a novel strategy was proposed for preparing a highly dispersed carbonencapsulated flower-like radial channels TiO 2 -supported catalysts (Ni 2 P@C/FLRC-TiO 2 ). The effect of P and pore structure of the TiO 2 support on the p-cresol HDO performance was investigated. An appropriate P content improves the HDO performance by increasing the acidity, while the open radial channels of Ni 2 P@C/FLRC-TiO 2 greatly reduces the reaction time and enhance the HDO activity by promoting rapid mass transfer and accessibility of active sites. The highly dispersed carbon-encapsulated Ni 2 P@C nanoparticles further improve the HDO activity and stability. Among the prepared catalysts, Ni 2 P@C/FLRC-TiO 2 -1 (initial NaH 2 PO 2 :Ni-MOF/FLRC-TiO 2 mass ratio = 1) exhibited the best HDO performance, yielding 100 % of the p -cresol deoxygenation products within 1.5 h under mild conditions. The excellent HDO performance originates from the synergy between FLRCTiO 2 radial channels and the Ni 2 P@C nanoparticles.