Hydrodeoxygenation of p‑Cresol over Pt/Al₂O₃ Catalyst Promoted by ZrO₂, CeO₂, and CeO₂–ZrO₂

ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ and CeO₂–Al₂O₃ were prepared by a co-precipitation method and selected as supports for Pt catalysts. The effects of CeO₂ and ZrO₂ on the surface area and Brønsted acidity of Pt/Al₂O₃ were studied. In the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of p-cresol, the addition of ZrO₂ promoted the direct deoxygenation activity on Pt/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ via C_aromatic–O bond scission without benzene ring saturation. Pt/CeO₂–Al₂O₃ exhibited higher deoxygenation extent than Pt/Al₂O₃ due to the fact that Brønsted acid sites on the catalyst surface favored the adsorption of p-cresol. With the advantages of CeO₂ and ZrO₂ taken into consideration, CeO₂–ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ was prepared, leading to the highest HDO activity of Pt/CeO₂–ZrO₂–Al₂O₃. The deoxygenation extent for Pt/CeO₂–ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ was 48.4% and 14.5% higher than that for Pt/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ and Pt/CeO₂–Al₂O₃, respectively.