Hydrodeoxygenation of p‑Cresol over Pt/Al2O3 Catalyst Promoted by ZrO2, CeO2, and CeO2–ZrO2

ZrO2–Al2O3 and CeO2–Al2O3 were prepared by a co-precipitation method and selected as supports for Pt catalysts. The effects of CeO2 and ZrO2 on the surface area and Brønsted acidity of Pt/Al2O3 were studied. In the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of p-cresol, the addition of ZrO2 promoted the direct deoxygenation activity on Pt/ZrO2–Al2O3 via Caromatic–O bond scission without benzene ring saturation. Pt/CeO2–Al2O3 exhibited higher deoxygenation extent than Pt/Al2O3 due to the fact that Brønsted acid sites on the catalyst surface favored the adsorption of p-cresol. With the advantages of CeO2 and ZrO2 taken into consideration, CeO2–ZrO2–Al2O3 was prepared, leading to the highest HDO activity of Pt/CeO2–ZrO2–Al2O3. The deoxygenation extent for Pt/CeO2–ZrO2–Al2O3 was 48.4% and 14.5% higher than that for Pt/ZrO2–Al2O3 and Pt/CeO2–Al2O3, respectively.