Faraday Discuss., 2017, 201, 317-326.

Enhancingthe biofuel upgrade performance for Pd nanoparticles via increasing the supporthydrophilicity of metal-organic frameworks.

In this work, the influence of thehydrophilic/hydrophobic nature of metal–organic framework (MOF) materials onthe catalytic performance of supported Pdnanoparticles for biofuel upgrade was studied. We show that the introduction ofhydrophilic groups on a MOF can greatly enhance the performance of theresultant catalyst. Specifically, Pdnanoparticles supported on MIL-101–SO3Nawith superhydrophilicity (Pd/MIL-101–SO3Na)far outperforms pristine MIL-101 and the benchmark catalyst Pd/C inthe hydrodeoxygenationreaction of vanillin, a model component of pyrolysis oil derived from thelignin fraction. This is attributed to a favorable mode of adsorption of thehighly water soluble reactants on the more hydrophilic support in the vicinityof the catalytically active Pdnanoparticles, thereby promoting their transformation.