Heterogeneous Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenolysis of Biomass-derived Polyols

Catalytic transformation of biomass-derived polyols into valuable chemicals has attracted attention from the viewpoint on using renewable carbon resources. Therefore, it is important for design and preparation of heterogeneous catalysts with high activity, high selectivity, and high stability for the selective conversion of biomass-derived polyols. Recently, it has been reported the selective production of mono-alcohols and/or diols by selective hydrogenolysis of sugar alcohols, where the Ir-ReOx and Pt-WOx as typical heterogeneous catalysts are highly efficient. In this review, we briefly summarized the routes for the selective conversion of sugar alcohols into mono-alcohols and/or diols, where the metal-metal oxide interaction for catalyst design, relationship between catalyst structure and performance, and reaction mechanism for the C-O hydrogenolysis are particularly discussed. In addition, the future trend for the selective hydrogenolysis of sugars is also prospected. This review might be helpful for design of novel heterogeneous catalysts in sugar alcohol conversion.