Acidic metal–organic framework empowered precise hydrodeoxygenation of bio-based furan compounds and cyclic ethers for sustainable fuels

Target synthesis of hydrocarbons from abundant biomass is highly desired for sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) to meet the need for both net zero carbon emission and air pollution control. However, precise hydrodeoxygenation (PHDO) of bio-based furan compounds and cyclic ethers to isomerically pure alkanes remains a challenge in heterogenous catalysis, which usually requires delicate control of the distribution of acid and metal catalytic sites in nanoconfined space. Here we show that a nanoporous acidic metal–organic framework (MOF), namely MIL-101-SO3H, enables one-pot PHDO reactions from furan-derivative oxygenates to solely single-component alkanes by just mechanical mixing with commercial Pd/C towards highly efficient and highly selective hydrocarbon production. The superior performance of such tandem catalysts can be attributed to the preferential adsorption of oxygenate precursors and expulsion of deoxygenated intermediates benefiting from Lewis acid sites embedded in the MOF. The strong Bronsted acidity of MIL-101-SO3H is contributed by both the –SO3H groups and the adsorbed H2O, which makes it a water-tolerant solid acid for durable PHDO processes. The simplicity of mechanical mixing of different heterogenous catalysts allows the modulation of the tandem catalysis system for optimization of the ultimate catalytic performance.