Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Under Mild Conditions Enabled by Photothermal High-Entropy Alloy Catalyst

Area of Science:

• Catalysis
• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Conventional production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) from biomass faces challenges due to harsh operating conditions, increasing energy use and costs.
• Developing efficient catalysts for SAF production under mild conditions is crucial for economic viability and environmental sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel high-entropy alloy (HEA) catalyst for the photothermally driven hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of oleic acid to produce bio-aviation fuel.
• To investigate the catalytic performance and mechanism of the HEA catalyst under mild reaction conditions.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of a PtPdBiNiZn/TiO2 HEA catalyst using a facile multi-step one-pot reaction system.
• Photothermally driven hydrodeoxygenation of oleic acid.
• Characterization using AC-HAADF-STEM and XAS.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the reaction mechanism.

Main Results:

• The HEA catalyst demonstrated promotion of hydrogen spillover and oxygen vacancy generation.
• AC-HAADF-STEM and XAS confirmed the alloy structure of the catalyst.
• Under mild conditions (120°C, 0.6 MPa H2), the catalyst achieved 93.2% selectivity for C8–C17 alkanes, outperforming existing Pt-based catalysts.
• DFT calculations revealed preferential adsorption of H2 and propionic acid on oxygen vacancies, highlighting their role in the HDO mechanism.

Conclusions:

• The novel HEA catalyst enables efficient bio-aviation fuel production from oleic acid under significantly reduced energy consumption.
• The catalyst's ability to promote hydrogen spillover and utilize oxygen vacancies is key to its high performance.
• This study presents a promising and energy-efficient approach for the sustainable production of aviation fuels.