Conversion of furfuryl alcohol to 1,5-pentanediol over CuCoAl nanocatalyst: The synergetic catalysis between Cu, CoOx and the basicity of metal oxides

A series of layered Cu-Co-Al hydrotalcite (LDHs) catalysts with different Cu/Co molar ratio were synthesized and applied for the hydrogenation of furfuryl alcohol to 1,5-pentanediol. The results indicated that the Cu0.2Co5.8/Al2O3 catalyst displayed an excellent catalytic efficiency compared to monometallic Co/Al2O3 or Cu/Al2O3 catalyst. The yield of 1,5-pentanediol reached 44.7% at 140 degrees C, 4 MPa H-2 within 2 h. In-situ XPS, H-2-TPR, CO2-TPD analysis revealed that the high efficiency of this catalyst was attributed to the synergistic catalysis between the surface Cu-0, CoOx and the basicity of metal oxides. Typically, Cu-0 sites activate dissociated hydrogen, the basic sites anchor furfuryl alcohol by -OH to form an alcoholate species, inducing furfuryl alcohol with C2 oblique adsorption on the catalyst surface. The adjacent CoOx species adsorb and activate C2=C3 group in furfuryl alcohol. Subsequently, C2=C3 bond of furfuryl alcohol was partially hydrogenated, facilitating the cleavage C2-O1 bond to produce 1,5-pentanediol.

Automated summary

A series of layered Cu-Co-Al hydrotalcite (LDHs) catalysts with different Cu/Co molar ratio were synthesized and applied for the hydrogenation of furfuryl alcohol to 1,5-pentanediol. The Cu0.2Co5.8/Al2O3 catalyst showed superior catalytic efficiency compared to monometallic Co/Al2O3 or Cu/Al2O3 catalysts. In-situ XPS, H-2-TPR, CO2-TPD analysis revealed that the synergistic catalysis between surface Cu-0, CoOx and the basicity of metal oxides contributed to the high efficiency of this catalyst.