Study of bifunctionality of Pt/SBA-15 catalysts for HDO of Dibenzofuran reaction: addition of Mo or use of an acidic support

Abstract Mesoporous silica SBA-15 and ZrSBA-15 (Si/Zr = 10) were prepared and used as supports of platinum and molybdenum based catalysts to be tested in the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reaction of dibenzofuran (DBF) as a model compound present in biomass derived bio-oil, at 3 MPa and 275 °C. It is evaluated the bifunctionality of Pt based catalysts by adding Mo to the catalyst formulation or by increasing the acidity of the material support employed. The catalysts showed significant differences in HDO activity as well as selectivity towards O-free products. The incorporation of Mo positively affected the DBF conversion and selectivity, obtaining better results than monometallic catalysts. In contrast, the presence of Zr in the support sharply decreased the conversion of the monometallic Pt sample and also of the bimetallic PtMo one, although in a lesser extent. Considering characterization results, the activity was explained in terms of acidity, reducibility, surface metal exposure and interaction between the phases present. PtMo/SBA-15 sample presented better catalytic results due to an intermediate acidity, better reducibility and greater Pt + Mo surface exposure. Moreover, the presence of Mo decreases the amount of carbon on the surface, improving the catalyst stability. The interaction of Pt-Mo seems to play an important role.