Carbon-coated Cu-Co bimetallic nanoparticles as selective and recyclable catalysts for production of biofuel 2,5-dimethylfuran

Cu-Co bimetallic nanoparticles coated with carbon layers have been developed through direct heating treatment of bimetallic oxide precursors incipiently deposited with polyethene glycol. The as-synthesized nanocatalyst performs excellently in chemoselective hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-dimethylfuran. The Co-based catalysts exhibit higher performance than Cu-based catalysts. Cu-Co@C (Cu:Co = 1:3) shows the highest yield of 2,5-dimethylfuran (99.4%). Bimetallic nanocatalysts are detailedly characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The bimetallic nanoparticles are entrapped by carbon shells that can protect them from oxidation and deactivation. The catalytic activity and selectivity are kept constant in a six run recycling test. The synergistic effect between two metal components is helpful to enhance catalytic performance. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.