Selective hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-dimethylfuran catalyzed by ordered mesoporous alumina supported nickel-molybdenum sulfide catalysts

The efficient transformation of biomass resources to biofuels has attracted much attention. Herein, ordered mesoporous alumina supported nickel-molybdenum sulfide catalysts (denoted as Ni-MoS2/rnAl(2)O(3)) were prepared by evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method and used for the hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF). Under mild conditions (130 degrees C, 1 MPa H-2), the 5Ni-7MoS(2)/ mAl(2)O(3) catalyst achieved 95 % yield of DMF. The results of characterizations and DFT calculation showed that the active center was proposed to the coordinated unsaturated site (CUS) located at S-edge. And the intrinsic activity of CUS was directly related to the proportion of Mo substituted by Ni. The 5Ni-7MoS(2)/mAl(2)O(3) catalyst containing CUS with high proportions of Ni replacing Mo showed higher TOF and lower apparent activated energy. Besides, 2-propanol can cooperate with molecular hydrogen to improve DMF yield by forming ethers that were easier to be hydrogenolyzed. The present findings provided a new catalytic system for converting HMF to DMF.