Production of aromatic hydrocarbons through lignin hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is of significant importance. Previously, we found that Ru/Nb₂O₅ was an excellent catalyst for the conversion of lignin to arenes with relatively high selectivity (71%). Herein, we aim to clarify which properties of Nb₂O₅ influence the activity and selectivity. Four Ru/Nb₂O₅ catalysts with different Nb₂O₅ morphologies were used in the HDO of 4-methylphenol. Intensive studies show that layered Nb₂O₅ supported Ru has more NbO groups (unsaturated NbOx sites) and highest Ru dispersion, which led to the highest activity and toluene selectivity, this was further confirmed by loading pre-synthesized Ru colloids in various Nb₂O₅. Finally, a Ru/Nb₂O₅ catalyst with more unsaturated NbO groups was designed and it was found that even with enzymatic lignin as the feedstock, the selectivity to arenes can reach up to 94.8% with the yield of hydrocarbons of 99.6%. This study provides a promising strategy for catalyst design towards the selective production of aromatic hydrocarbons from lignin.

通过木质素加氢脱氧（HDO）生产芳烃非常重要。以前，我们发现Ru / Nb ₂ O ₅是将木质素转化为芳烃的极好催化剂，具有较高的选择性（71％）。在此，我们旨在阐明Nb ₂ O _5的哪些特性会影响活性和选择性。在4-甲基苯酚的HDO中使用了四种具有不同Nb ₂ O ₅形态的Ru / Nb ₂ O ₅催化剂。大量研究表明，层状Nb ₂ O ₅负载的Ru具有更多的NbO基团（不饱和NbOx位点）和最高的Ru分散度，导致最高的活性和甲苯选择性，这是通过将预合成的Ru胶体装入各种Nb ₂ O _5中进一步证实的。最后，设计了具有更多不饱和Nb O基团的Ru / Nb ₂ O ₅催化剂，发现即使使用酶促木质素作为原料，对芳烃的选择性也可以达到94.8％，烃的产率为99.6％。这项研究为从木质素选择性生产芳香烃的催化剂设计提供了一种有前途的策略。