Porous Hollow Nanostructure Promoting the Catalytic Performance and Stability of Ni3P in Furfural Hydrogenation

Abstract

In the processes of hydrogenation, the accurate control of product distribution is crucial to the high-value conversion of furfural. Herein, Ni3P catalysts were prepared by phase separation synthesis with porous hollow nanospheres and employed as catalysts for the hydrogenation of furfural. Over the Ni3P-400 catalyst, furfural could be transformed completely with 95.6% selectivity toward furfuryl alcohol under 120 °C and 1.6 MPa for 4 h. The deactivation of the Ni3P-400 catalyst was not observed during 8-run recycling tests. Moreover, using other carbonyl compounds derived from biomass as substrates, excellent catalytic performance was also obtained. Such exceptional features make the Ni3P-400 catalyst promising for industrial applications not only in hydrogenation of furfural but also in hydrogenation of other carbonyl substrates.