Efficient production of the liquid fuel 2,5-dimethylfuran from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over Ru/Co3O4 catalyst

Ru/Co3O4 catalyst prepared by a simple coprecipitation method, was used to catalyze the conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) for the first time and exhibited excellent catalytic performance. 93.4% yield of DMF was achieved at relatively low reaction temperature and H-2 pressure (130 degrees C, 0.7 MPa). Further studies showed that Ru is responsible for hydrogenation, while CoOx species played important role in the hydrogenolysis of hydroxyl groups. Besides, this catalyst also displayed a good reusability and can be used for 5 times without loss of the activity. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.