Novel preparation method of bimetallic Ni-In alloy catalysts supported on amorphous alumina for the highly selective hydrogenation of furfural

A novel preparation method for bimetallic nickel-indium alloy catalysts supported on amorphous alumina (Ni-In(x)/AA; x=Ni/In molar ratio) catalysts has been developed and evaluated for the highly selective hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural. Ni-In(x)/AA catalysts were obtained via the hydrothermal treatment of Raney (R) nickel supported on aluminium hydroxide (R-Ni/AlOH) and an InCl2 center dot H2O solution in an ethanol/H2O mixture at 423 K for 2 h, followed by reduction with H-2 at 573-873 K for 1.5 h. The formation of Ni-In alloy phases such as Ni3In2, Ni3In, Ni2In, and Niln in Ni-In(2.0)/AA was clearly observed after reduction with H-2 at 873 K for 1.5 h. Ni-In(2.0)/AA contained a Ni2In alloy as the major phase, which exhibited the best catalytic performance for the selective hydrogenation of furfural into furfuryl alcohol and was stable for at least five consecutive reaction runs. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.