A Supported Ni Catalyst Produced from Ni-Al Hydrotalcite-Like Precursor for Reduction of Furfuryl Alcohol to Tetrahydrofurfuryl Alcohol by NaBH4 in Water

Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) is a kind of high value-added compound in industry, which can be obtained from biomass chemical engineering. However, Synthesis of THFA under mild condition with green hydrogen donors remains a big challenge. In this article, a supported Ni catalyst derived from Ni-Al hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTs) as precursors for the reduction of furfuryl alcohol (FA) into THFA with NaBH4 as reducing agent in water was first reported. As a result, Ni/Al2O3-HT exhibited high catalytic activity for the transformation, and THFA was achieved in 100 % yield at 60 degrees C for 60 min. Moreover, Ni/Al2O3-HT could be recycled at least seven times without the loss of its activity. Under optimized conditions, the reduction reaction of several furan and ketone compounds was investigated. A possible mechanism for the reduction of FA to afford THFA was also proposed.

Automated summary

This study reported a supported Ni catalyst derived from Ni-Al hydrotalcite-like compounds as precursors, which was used to reduce furfuryl alcohol to THFA with NaBH4 as the reducing agent in water. The catalyst showed high catalytic activity, achieving THFA in 100% yield at 60 degrees C for 60 min, and could be recycled at least seven times without losing its activity. The reduction reaction of several furan and ketone compounds was also investigated under optimized conditions, proposing a possible mechanism for the reduction of furfuryl alcohol to THFA.