Design of a bifunctional catalyst by alloying Ni with Ru-supported H-beta for selective hydrodeoxygenation of bisphenol A and polycarbonate plastic waste

The valorization of waste plastic to renewable chemicals is essential for human civilization. Bimetallic bi-functional catalysts can promote liquid-phase hydrodeoxygenation to produce liquid fuels and value-added chemicals. Ru-Ni/H-Beta bi-functional catalyst is demonstrated for the hydrodeoxygenation of bisphenol A, a monomer of polycarbonate (PC), and PC plastic waste under mild reaction conditions, afforded a complete conversion and > 90% selectivity of propane-2,2-diyldicyclohexane (P7), a JET fuel range C15 cycloalkanes. The process was scaled to 2 g of plastic waste. The catalyst exhibited excellent activity (TOF-309 h-1 at 0.3 h), reusability, and substrate diversity. The performance of Ru-Ni/H-Beta catalysts depends on the synergy between Ru and Ni, with the best performance observed at the Ni/Ru weight ratio of 0.5. The bimetallic Ru-Ni catalytic strategy and mechanistic understanding presented in this work provide promising insight into catalyst design and could be applied to other chemical transformations requiring efficient hydrodeoxygenation catalysts.