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Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets were investigated for developing effective Pt catalyst supports for selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol in water. The nanosheets with an average thickness of about 3 nm were synthesized by a simple and green method through thermal oxidation etching of bulk g-C3N4 in air. Combined with the unique feature of nitrogen richness and locally conjugated structure, the g-C3N4 nanosheets with a high surface area of 142 m2 g−1 were demonstrated to be an excellent supports for loading small-size Pt nanoparticles. Superior furfural hydrogenation activity in water with complete conversion of furfural and high selectivity of furfuryl alcohol (>99%) was observed for g-C3N4 nanosheets supported Pt catalysts. The large specific surface area, uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles and the stronger furfural adsorption ability of nanosheets contributed to the considerable catalytic performance. The reusability tests showed that the novel Pt catalyst could maintain high activity and stability in the furfural hydrogenation reaction.

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