# Formic Acid Pursues Efficient Hydrodeoxygenation of Naphthols and Phenolic Derivatives to Arenes

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a safer, low-pressure method for converting naphthols and phenols into aromatic chemicals using formic acid and a Pd/C catalyst.

## Contribution

The study proposes formic acid as a sustainable LOHC for HDO, avoiding high-pressure hydrogen and enabling industrial scalability.

## Key findings

- Formic acid effectively generates hydrogen in situ for HDO under low-pressure conditions.
- The method works for a broad range of naphthols and phenols, including pharmaceutical compounds like amylmetacresol and thymol.
- Pd/C is a viable commercial catalyst for this alternative HDO process.

## Abstract

The use of high‐pressure hydrogen poses significant challenges, including safety risks, storage problems, and elevated costs. Consequently, developing reductive chemical processes utilizing low‐pressure hydrogen is highly appealing for industrial‐scale applications. This emphasizes the critical need for sustainable alternatives that offer safer and more accessible reaction conditions. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) are appealing materials due to their capability to generate hydrogen in situ, which can be directly utilized to produce target biofuel precursors, fuels, or fuel additives. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is an efficient approach for transforming lignin and its phenolic derivatives into valuable aromatic chemicals and fuels. Herein, we present an alternative HDO of naphthols and phenols using a commercial heterogeneous catalyst, Pd/C, employing formic acid as LOHC. This paper presents a consistent substrate scope for the HDO of different naphthols and phenols, including pharmaceutically relevant molecules such as amylmetacresol and menthol.

An alternative hydrodeoxygenation of naphthols and phenols using a commercial heterogeneous catalyst, Pd/C, employing formic acid as LOHC is reported. We outline a substrate scope for the HDO of different naphthols and phenols, including pharmaceutically relevant molecules such as amylmetacresol and thymol.© 2026 WILEY‐VCH GmbH