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

Sustainable aviation fuels derived from biomass offer a renewable alternative to fossil-based jet fuel. However, conventional production processes are often hindered by harsh operating conditions, which increase energy consumption and overall costs. In this study, a novel PtPdBiNiZn/TiO2 high-entropy alloy (HEA) catalyst was prepared via a rapid and facile multi-step one-pot reaction system under mild conditions for the photothermally driven hydrodeoxygenation of oleic acid to produce bio-aviation fuel. The prepared catalyst promotes hydrogen spillover and  oxygen vacanciesgeneration. AC-HAADF-STEM and XAS identified the presence of an alloy structure. Under mild conditions with 120°C and hydrogen pressure of 0.6 MPa, the catalyst achieved a selectivity of 93.2% for C8 ∼ C17 alkanes, exceeding that of previously reported Pt-based systems under the same reaction conditions. DFT calculations revealed that Ovs on the TiO2 preferentially adsorb H2 (-0.39 eV) and propionic acid (-2.20 eV), confirming the key role of Ovs in the HDO mechanism. These mild conditions significantly reduce the energy consumption of the reaction, offering a new approach for producing sustainable aviation fuels.