Selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over Cu/CeCoOx in aqueous phase

Furfuryl alcohol (FOL) was one of the most versatile chemical platform compounds derived from lignocelluloses biomass. Herein, a set of novel magnetic Cu/CeCoO(x )catalysts with different Cu/Ce/Co molar ratios were synthesized and used for hydrogenation of furfural (FFA) to valuable FOL. The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were investigated by multiple techniques such as X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), nitrogen phys-isorption, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and N2O chemisorption experiment. The catalyst Cu/CeCoOx showed high activity and excellent selectivity for hydrogenation of FFA in water with a dependence on the molar ratio of Cu/Ce/Co. Impressively, 100% conversion of FFA and up to 99.7% FOL yield can be achieved over the optimal Cu(5)/Ce(6)Co(14)O-x catalyst at 120 ?C and 2 MPa H-2 pressure for 2 h in water. Furthermore, the magnetic Cu/CeCoO(x )catalyst demonstrates good reusability and could be recovered easily after reaction for several times without appreciable loss in both activity and selectivity.

Automated summary

In this study, a series of magnetic Cu/CeCoO(x) catalysts with different Cu/Ce/Co molar ratios were synthesized and investigated for the hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol. The optimal Cu(5)/Ce(6)Co(14)O-x catalyst exhibited high activity and excellent selectivity, achieving 100% conversion of furfural and up to 99.7% yield of furfuryl alcohol. The catalyst also demonstrated good reusability.