Controlling Product Distribution of Polyethylene Hydrogenolysis Using Bimetallic RuM3 (M = Fe, Co, Ni) Catalysts

Yong Yuan; Zhenhua Xie; Kevin K Turaczy; Sooyeon Hwang; Jiahua Zhou; Jingguang G Chen

doi:10.1021/cbe.3c00007

Controlling Product Distribution of Polyethylene Hydrogenolysis Using Bimetallic RuM₃ (M = Fe, Co, Ni) Catalysts

Chem Bio Eng. 2024 Jan 4;1(1):67-75. doi: 10.1021/cbe.3c00007. eCollection 2024 Feb 22.

Authors

Yong Yuan¹, Zhenhua Xie², Kevin K Turaczy², Sooyeon Hwang³, Jiahua Zhou⁴, Jingguang G Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States.
³ Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States.

Abstract

Plastic hydrogenolysis is an attractive approach for producing value-added chemicals due to its mild reaction conditions, but controlling product distribution is challenging due to the formation of undesired CH_4. This work reports several bimetallic RuM₃/CeO₂ (M = Fe, Co, Ni) catalysts that shift the product of low-density polyethylene hydrogenolysis toward longer-chain hydrocarbons. These catalysts were characterized by using X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, electron microscopy imaging, and H₂ temperature-programmed reduction. The combined catalytic evaluation and characterization results revealed that the product distribution was regulated by the formation of bimetallic alloys. A model compound, n-hexadecane, was selected to further understand the differences in hydrogenolysis over the Ru-based catalysts. Although a longer reaction time shifted the product toward smaller molecules, the bimetallic (RuCo₃/CeO₂) catalyst limited the further conversion of C2-C5 into CH₄. This work highlights the role of bimetallic alloys in tailoring the interaction with hydrocarbons, thereby controlling the product distribution of polymer hydrogenolysis.