High performance of Au/ZTC based catalysts for the selective oxidation of bio-derivative furfural to 2-furoic acid

Furfural is a platform bio-molecule for which is valuable to develop new green upgrading processes in biorefinery. We report here for the first time the high performance of Au/ZTC catalyst for the selective oxidation of furfural to 2-fumic acid, as first step to develop electrodes. The ordered nanostructure and high surface area of BEA structure replica ZTC allows to develop 3D-type electrodes. Au/ZTC catalyst shows higher performance than commercial Vulcan, used as reference conductive carbon in fuel cells. The weak acidity on ZTC avoids decarboxylation and esterification reactions, leading to about 90% of furfural conversion fully selectivity to 2-furoic acid.

Automated summary

The high performance of the Au/ZTC catalyst in the selective oxidation of furfural to 2-fumic acid was reported for the first time, showing potential for developing electrodes with better performance than commercial Vulcan. The weak acidity on ZTC helps to avoid unwanted reactions, leading to high selectivity in furfural conversion.