Enhanced Radical Dehydrogenation over Carbon Monoxide-Decorated Palladium Sites for Linear α-Olefin Production from Biomass-Derived Fatty Acids

Biomass-derived fatty acids are promising candidates for the production of linear α-olefins (LAOs). Under irradiation, they can be facilely transformed into alkyl radicals over heterogeneous photocatalysts. However, the subsequent dehydrogenation of generated radical intermediates to produce valuable LAOs remains kinetically challenging. Here we demonstrate that CO decoration on Pd nanoparticles can promote LAO production from fatty acids by significantly lowering the energy barrier for alkyl radical intermediate dehydrogenation. 1-Undecene can be obtained from lauric acid in a yield of 46% over a Pd/TiO2 photocatalyst. Polymerization of the synthesized 1-undecene and subsequent mechanical tests clarify its potential to be used as a renewable comonomer. Our research puts forward an efficient protocol to control the conversion of radical intermediates over heterogeneous catalytic sites for biomass upgrading.