Controlling Hydrodeoxygenation of Stearic Acid to n‐Heptadecane and n‐Octadecane by Adjusting the Chemical Properties of Ni/SiO2–ZrO2 Catalyst

Abstract A series of SiO 2 –ZrO 2 mixed oxides with varying SiO 2 concentrations were hydrothermally synthesized and used as support for Ni in the hydrodeoxygenation of stearic acid. ZrO 2 provides a relatively low surface area and only Lewis acid sites, and Ni supported on ZrO 2 produces n ‐heptadecane from stearic acid through hydrogenation and decarbonylation. The SiO 2 –ZrO 2 mixed oxides have a higher specific surface area than ZrO 2 as well as an unprecedented spherical and nanolayered morphology. Brønsted acid sites were created by the incorporation of SiO 2 into ZrO 2 , promoting the hydrodeoxygenation activity of Ni and specifically opening a new reaction route to n ‐octadecane through the dehydration of 1‐octadecanol intermediate into 1‐octadecene with subsequent hydrogenation.