Hydrogenoylsis Selectivity Enhancements Via Catalyst Surface Modification

Biochemical production of advanced biofuels often requires high selectivity of reaction towards a specific functional group in the reactant molecules. This work focuses on cleaving a specific double bond via hydrogenolysis to ultimately produce high cetane diesel molecules from fatty acids. Using small olefins such as propylene and butene as probe reactants, supported Ni catalsyts were used to characterize reactions on a normal catalyst material. Modifications of the synthesis method provide different surface structures leading to changes in selectivity on step-edge acive sites on the Ni. In addition, adding bimetallic catalysts in a surface limited nanoscale addition via ALD provided other means for enhancing catalytic selectivity towards hydrogenolysis.