Investigation on Pt-WO3 Catalytic Interface for the Hydrodeoxygenation of Anisole

As a model compound for lignin derivatives, anisole and its conversion are crucial for the upgrading of biomass resources. Anisole molecule contains a characteristic aryl ether bond (Caryl-O-CH3); therefore, the selective cleavage of the C-O bond to efficiently produce high-value chemicals poses a significant challenge. Constructing bimetallic synergistic active sites through tuning the metal-support interface is considered an effective strategy. In this work, the WO3-promoted Pt/SiO2 catalysts were investigated to enhance the performance of anisole hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) to hydrocarbons. Experimental results demonstrate that WO3 significantly promotes HDO selectivity, increasing from 37.8% to 86.8% at 250 °C. Moreover, moderate doping improves low-temperature (<250 °C) HDO activity, confirming the presence of synergistic effects. In contrast, excessive WO3 suppresses anisole conversion. Characterization results reveal that WO3 stabilizes metallic Pt and facilitates H2 dissociation. Concurrently, strong hydrogen spillover between Pt and WO3 promotes oxygen vacancy formation on WO3. This transforms disordered adsorption of anisole on SiO2 into directed adsorption of the anisole’s oxygen species onto WO3. This work achieves high anisole HDO selectivity through the Pt-WO3 interface tuning, offering novel insights for efficient lignin conversion.