Magnesium Aluminate Supported Cu Catalyst for Selective Transfer Hydrogenation of Biomass Derived Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol with Formic Acid as Hydrogen Donor

Abstract

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) was concerned great attention because it does not need the use of high pressure H2. A series of Cu catalysts has been prepared for transfer hydrogenation of biomass derived furfural to furfuryl alcohol with formic acid. The prepared Cu based catalysts are thoroughly characterized by various technique such as XRD, TPR, TPD (NH3, CO2), TEM, FT‐IR, UV‐Vis, N2O pulse chemisorption and N2‐physorption method. For a comparison point of view, the activity tests of various copper based catalysts have also been carried out. Among all these, MgAl2O4 (MA) supported copper catalyst was found to be the best to give 90% selectivity of furfuryl alcohol from transfer hydrogenation of furfural. The excellent yield of furfuryl alcohol could be attributed to high density of surface active Cu species, proper surface acidic‐basic properties and metal support interaction. Moreover, Cu/MA catalyst was simply recovered and reused, which retained its original activity even after reaction without significant loss of original activity. Supporting its reusability and stability.

Recent advances in the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over heterogeneous catalysts

“…Nagaiah et al prepared a series of Cu-based catalysts via impregnation using Cu(NO 3 ) 2 ·3H 2 O as the metal precursor and MgAl 2 O 4 (MA) as the support for the CTH of FF to FFA with formic acid as the H donor. 67 15CMA (15% Cu loading) gave 90% FF conversion and 99% FFA selectivity with a formic acid/FF mole ratio of 1 : 5 and a TOF of nearly 0.16 s −1 at 483 K and 0.1 MPa N 2 . In comparison, only 70% FF conversion and 85% FFA selectivity were obtained at 483 K using H 2 as the hydrogen source.…”

An Account of the Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenation and Hydrogenolysis of Carbohydrate‐Derived Renewable Platform Chemicals over Non‐Precious Heterogeneous Metal Catalysts

“…For example, Kamaraju and coworkers employed Cu/MgAl 2 O 4 catalysts for the transfer hydrogenation of FUR at 210°C using FA as H-donor in the gas phase. [34] Among various Cu loadings (10 wt%, 15 wt%, and 20 wt%), 15 wt% Cu/MgAl 2 O 3 conferred the highest conversion of 90 %. Whereas, FOL selectivity over all three catalysts remained close to 100 %.…”

“…Very few research groups have employed FA as H‐donor in FUR hydrogenation. For example, Kamaraju and coworkers employed Cu/MgAl 2 O 4 catalysts for the transfer hydrogenation of FUR at 210 °C using FA as H‐donor in the gas phase [34] . Among various Cu loadings (10 wt%, 15 wt%, and 20 wt%), 15 wt% Cu/MgAl 2 O 3 conferred the highest conversion of 90 %.…”

Hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over MOF-derived Fe/Cu@C and Fe3O4/Cu@C catalysts

“…The Cu characteristics were determined using N 2 O pulse chemisorption with a Builder PCA-1200 chemical adsorption instrument. [37][38][39]…”