Promoting Amination of Furfural to Furfurylamine by Metal-Support Interactions on Pd/MoO3-x Catalysts

The reductive amination of carbonyl compounds is one of the most straightforward protocols to construct C-N bonds, but highly desires active and selective catalysts. Herein, Pd/MoO3-x catalysts are proposed for furfural amination, in which the interactions between Pd nanoparticles and MoO3-x supports can be easily ameliorated by varying the preparation temperature toward efficient catalytic turnover. Thanks to the synergistic cooperation of Mo-V-rich MoO3-x and highly dispersed Pd, the optimal catalysts afford the high yield of furfurylamine (84 %) at 80 & DEG;C. Thereinto, Mo-V species not only acts as the acidic promoter to facilitate the activation of carbonyl groups, but also interacts with Pd nanoparticles to promote the subsequent hydrogenolysis of Schiff base N-furfurylidenefurfurylamine and its germinal diamine. The good efficiency of Pd/MoO3-x within a broad substrate scope further highlights the key contribution of metal-support interactions to the refinery of biomass feedstocks.

Automated summary

Pd/MoO3-x catalysts were proposed for the reductive amination of furfural, showing high catalytic activity due to the interactions between Pd nanoparticles and MoO3-x supports. The Mo-V-rich MoO3-x acts as an acidic promoter to facilitate carbonyl group activation and also interacts with Pd nanoparticles to promote hydrogenolysis reactions. The efficient Pd/MoO3-x catalyst demonstrates the importance of metal-support interactions in biomass refinery.