Hydrogenolysis Mechanism of Furfuryl Alcohol on Ru/RuOx Catalyst

This work identifies a reduced oxide phase as a likely candidate for the active catalytic site of furfuryl alcohol hydrogenolysis on a bifunctional Ru-based metal/Lewis site catalyst. Density functional theory calculations and microkinetic modeling reveal oxametallacycle formation and lack of oxygen poisoning as crucial factors for efficient hydrogenolysis.