Recent progress on bimetallic catalysts for the production of fuels and chemicals from biomass and plastics by hydrodeoxygenation

Valorization of biomass and plastics is an urgent assignment to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. Hydrodeoxygenation using bimetallic catalysts with distinct active sites is one of the most effective approaches to producing fuels and chemicals via C–O/C–C bonds hydrogenolysis and hydrogenation. Rational design of bimetallic catalysts has been progressed in recent studies owing to the understanding of synergy and strong mutual interaction between metal nanoparticles and metal oxide species. Thus, activity of bimetallic catalysts has been further improved, and the chemoselectivity for suppression of C–C bond dissociation and the regioselectivity among different C–O bonds, which have less been achieved before, are realized in the hydrodeoxygenation reactions. The catalytic performances, catalyst structures, and reaction mechanisms are directly compared and discussed in details based on the C–O bond cleavage using glycerol and 1,2-propanediol hydrogenolysis as model reactions over Ir-, Pt-, and Ru-based bimetallic catalysts. Finally, application of these bimetallic catalysts to conversion of lignocellulose-derived feedstocks, carbonyl compounds, and typical plastic of polycarbonates is introduced.