Highly selective hydrogenation of arenes over Rh nanoparticles immobilized on α-Al2O3 support at room temperature

Selective hydrogenation of arenes is a crucial process not only for the hydrogen storage and transport but also for the synthesis of important pharmaceutical intermediates. Herein, a series of α-Al2O3-supported catalysts prepared using different metals were tested for the arenes hydrogenation of lignin derivatives at room temperature. The kinetic studies reveal that Rh-1/α-Al2O3 exhibits both the highest reaction rate and TOF value for the conversion of diphenyl ether and toluene. The XRD, TEM, XPS and XAS characterizations suggest that the metal Rh nanoparticles dispersed on α-Al2O3 support for Rh-1/α-Al2O3 catalyst is mainly responsible for the H2 activation/dissociation and subsequent arenes hydrogenation. The density functional theory calculation indicates the stronger adsorption capacity of toluene and guaiacol on Rh (2 0 0) than that on Rh (1 1 1) and Rh (2 2 0). Stable Rh-1/α-Al2O3 can contribute to the improvement of the arenes hydrogenation of lignin derivatives to produce high-value-added platform chemicals at room temperature.