One pot conversion of furfural to 2-methylfuran in the presence of PtCo bimetallic catalyst

Abstract

Biomass-derived furfural (FAL) is the platform chemical for synthesis of various value-added chemicals and fuels. One of the FAL-derived chemicals, i.e., 2-methylfuran (2-MF), is the potential biofuel due to its attractive chemical and physical properties. Various methods are reported for conversion of FAL to 2-MF which are operated at high temperature and high H2 pressure. In present work, one pot catalytic method was developed in batch mode process for conversion of FAL to 2-MF. Reactions are carried out in the presence of PtCo/C bimetallic catalyst under 0.5–1 MPa H2 pressure. Monometallic and bimetallic catalysts with different Pt and Co loading were prepared by wet impregnation method, and catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, BET surface area, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and inductive coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy techniques. 59% 2-MF yield was achieved at 180 °C and lower (0.5 MPa) H2 pressure.