Selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over Cu/CeCoOx in aqueous phase

Abstract

Furfuryl alcohol (FOL) was one of the most versatile chemical platform compounds derived from lignocelluloses biomass. Herein, a set of novel magnetic Cu/CeCoOx catalysts with different Cu/Ce/Co molar ratios were synthesized and used for hydrogenation of furfural (FFA) to valuable FOL. The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were investigated by multiple techniques such as X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), nitrogen physisorption, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and N2O chemisorption experiment. The catalyst Cu/CeCoOx showed high activity and excellent selectivity for hydrogenation of FFA in water with a dependence on the molar ratio of Cu/Ce/Co. Impressively, 100% conversion of FFA and up to 99.7% FOL yield can be achieved over the optimal Cu(5)/Ce(6)Co(14)Ox catalyst at 120 °C and 2 MPa H2 pressure for 2 h in water. Furthermore, the magnetic Cu/CeCoOx catalyst demonstrates good reusability and could be recovered easily after reaction for several times without appreciable loss in both activity and selectivity.