Selective Conversion of Furfural to Cyclopentanone with CuZnAl Catalysts

Abstract

A new catalytic system was developed for the selective conversion of biomass-derived furfural to cyclopentanone in aqueous solution. CuZnAl catalysts with different Cu/Zn molar ratios (0.5, 1, 2, and 3) and calcination temperatures (350, 500, and 700 °C) were investigated, and the CuZnAl-500–0.5 catalyst (Cu/Zn = 0.5, calcined at 500 °C) showed a remarkable catalytic performance in the reaction. A 62% yield of cyclopentanone was obtained at the optimized conditions (150 °C, 4 MPa H2, 6 h), and the TOF was 9.4 h–1. The catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, XRD, TEM, N2O titration, ICP, XPS, and a carbon–sulfur analyzer. The factors that influenced the activity of catalysts were also investigated. Additionally, the CuZnAl-500–0.5 was recycled five times and maintained good activity and stability. Hence, the current work presents a new and efficient catalytic system for the conversion of furfural to cyclopentanone. The low-cost nature of the CuZnAl makes it a potential catalyst for the product...