Transfer hydrogenation of furaldehydes with sodium phosphinate as a hydrogen source using Pd-supported alumina catalyst

Transformations of furaldehydes to the corresponding furfuryl alcohols via hydrogenation with sodium hypophosphite (NaH2PO2) as a hydrogen donor agent were performed over Pd/Al2O3 catalyst under ambient condition in THF/water solvent. Furfuryl alcohol (FOL), 5-methylfurfuryl alcohol (5-MFOL) and 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF), were produced with 68%, 45% and 63% yield, respectively, from 2-furaldehyde (furfural), 5-methylfulaldehyde (5-MF) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (HMF) at room temperature (25 degrees C). The Pd/Al2O3 catalyst was reusable for all reaction without significant decrease in activity. These results indicated that the NaH2PO2 would be a cheap and an easy-handling hydrogen donor for catalytic hydrogenation reactions under mild conditions. (C) 2017 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.