Highly selective demethylation of anisole to phenol over H4Nb2O7 modified MoS2 catalyst

Hydrogenolysis of lignin to obtain value-added phenolic chemicals is an important approach for its comprehensive utilization. Herein, H4Nb2O7 modified MoS2 catalyst with short slabs and narrow stacking degree was successfully synthesized by the one step hydrothermal method and used in the selective demethylation of anisole to phenol. The MoS2–H4Nb2O7-160 catalyst exhibited the best activity with 97.7% conversion of anisole and 98.0% selectivity of phenol under 3 MPa H2 pressure at 270 °C for 4 h, which has been rarely reported on anisole transformation over heterogeneous catalysts so far. The characterizations results demonstrated that the H4Nb2O7 modification reduced the slab length and stacking degree of MoS2 during the hydrothermal process and enhanced the acidity property therefore improved the cleavage ability of CArO–CH3 bond. This study provides a new scheme for the activity enhancement of MoS2 in lignin demethylation, laying a foundation on the improvement of lignin utilization and the development of renewable energy strategy.