Efficient and selective hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural to cyclopentanone using Ru catalysts

The selective hydrogenation of furfural into cyclopentanone is an attractive transformation to advance in the sustainable synthesis of important chemicals from biomass. A supported Ru nanoparticle catalyst on an acidic MOF material (Ru/MIL-101) was designed for the highly active and selective conversion of furfural to cyclopentanone in aqueous media. Complete conversion of furfural with a selectivity higher than 96% was achieved within 2.5 h at 160 degrees C and 4.0 MPa H-2 pressure.