Enhanced catalytic transfer hydrogenation of biomass-based furfural into furfuryl alcohol over Co3O4-based mixed oxide catalysts from hydrotalcite

• Published in: Applied catalysis. A, General Vol. 684; p. 119909
• Main Authors: Cheng, Shifang, Ding, Junfang, Chen, Yakai, Pan, Ganen, Feng, Xinya, Xu, Xingliang, Xu, Jing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 25-08-2024
• Subjects: Co3O4; Furfural; Furfuryl alcohol; Hydrotalcite; Transfer hydrogenation; Transfer hydrogenation; Hydrotalcite; Furfural; Furfuryl alcohol; Co3O4
• ISSN: 0926-860X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcata.2024.119909

Catalytic furfural (FF) into high value-added furfuryl alcohol (FOL) is a very important biomass improvement process and remains a challenging task. Herein, a series of Co-based composite oxide (CoMgAl-LDO) catalysts with highly dispersed Co3O4-based spinel oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by the topological transformation of Co-based ternary layered hydroxides (CoMgAl-LDH) under calcination conditions and tested for catalytic transfer hydrogenation of FF to FOL using isopropanol (2-PrOH) as hydrogen donor. The CoMgAl-LDO, especially Co1.5Mg1.5Al1-LDO calcinated at 500 °C (Co1.5Mg1.5Al1-LDO-500) offered the outstanding catalytic performance for the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of FF to FOL (99.7 % FF conversion and 95.9 % FOL selectivity), which was attributed to effectively dispersed active sites, abundant acid-base sites and mesoporous structure. Additionally, the Co1.5Mg1.5Al1-LDO-500 catalyst manifested good stability with wider universality to other carbonyl compounds, making the catalytic system extremely economical and practical in various biomass hydrogenation processes.
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•Co3O4-based mixed oxide (CoMgAl-LDO) catalysts were synthesized by the calcination of Co-based hydrotalcites (CoMgAl-LDH).•Co1.5Mg1.5Al1-LDO-500 (500 ℃) exhibited excellent performance in the hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol.•The dispersion of active Co3O4, abundant acid-base sites and mesoporous structure enhanced the performance of the catalyst.