Basic carrier promoted Pt-catalyzed hydrogenolysis of alkaline lignin

[Display omitted] •Pt nanoparticles on basic hydroxyapatite carrier are prepared (Pt/HAP).•Catalytic activities over Pt/HAP can be adjusted by carrier’s basicity.•The highest activity is achieved by enhancing Pt dispersion and basic concentration.•Catalyst basicity should be paid attention for design of efficient catalyst. Catalytic hydrogenolysis of lignin to produce arene monomers is promising for efficient utilization of lignocellulose. The acidic carrier supported metal nanoparticles exhibit excellent catalytic performance, while basic carrier was not often used. In this study, a basic hydroxyapatite supported Pt nanoparticles (Pt/HAP-3) were developed for the catalytic hydrogenolysis of alkaline lignin, achieving 15.1 % monomer yield. Characterizations of the catalysts and investigation on the basic sites show that high monomer yield is resulted from the synergy of suitable metal nanoparticles and sufficient basic sites of the carrier. This work might be helpful for preparation of efficient catalysts for the hydrogenolysis of lignin in the future.