MOF‐derived Ni‐W_xC/carbon catalysts: Application to cellulose conversion into glycols

Abstract

In this work, a series of Ni‐WxC/carbon materials have been prepared from a MOF precursor, DUT‐8(Ni), following different tungsten deposition routes. After pyrolysis, nickel‐tungsten alloys and tungsten carbide phases over nitrogen‐doped carbons were obtained. These materials were applied to cellulose hydrogenolysis, where molar yields of up to 46% in ethylene glycol (EG) and 9% in propylene glycol (PG) were obtained at 245 °C after 1 hour of reaction time. The best performing catalyst demonstrated promising stability, as the EG yield remained constant over 3 recycling tests and very little nanoparticles sintering was observed.