The utilization of lignin-derived compounds is an important part of biomass valorization. One promising way to achieve this goal is to reduce/eliminate the oxygen content via hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), producing valuable fuels and chemicals. However, most HDO catalysts are not selective for arene production; they have a tendency to saturate the aromatic rings and thus consume excess hydrogen. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in catalysts for phenol HDO and the understanding of the reaction mechanisms involved, aiming to provide a perspective for developing highly efficient HDO catalysts. In particular, we first present an overview of the HDO of phenolics, including the challenges in selectively removing oxygen without saturating the aromatic ring. Then, we focus on the characteristics of four types of HDO catalysts, i.e., sulfides, base metals (oxides), noble-metal-based catalysts, and carbides/nitrides/phosphides and the potential approaches to improve their arene selectivity. Finally, we attempt to generate a correlation between the oxophilicity of the catalysts and their performances in the HDO of phenolics, which can potentially serve as a basis for the design of selective HDO catalysts.

中文翻译：

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木质素来源的含氧化合物选择性催化加氢脱氧制芳烃的最新进展

木质素衍生化合物的利用是生物质增值的重要组成部分。一个有希望的方式来实现这一目标是降低/消除氧含量通过加氢脱氧（HDO），生产有价值的燃料和化学物质。但是，大多数HDO催化剂对芳烃生产没有选择性。它们倾向于使芳环饱和并因此消耗过量的氢。在这篇综述中，我们总结了酚HDO催化剂的最新进展以及对涉及的反应机理的理解，旨在为开发高效HDO催化剂提供一个视角。特别是，我们首先概述了酚醛树脂的HDO，包括在不使芳环饱和的情况下选择性除去氧的挑战。然后，我们集中讨论四种类型的HDO催化剂的特性，即，硫化物，贱金属（氧化物），贵金属基催化剂，碳化物/氮化物/磷化物以及改善其芳烃选择性的潜在方法。最后，我们尝试在催化剂的亲氧性与它们在酚醛HDO中的性能之间产生关联，这可能会作为选择性HDO催化剂设计的基础。