Catalytic transfer hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural into furfuryl alcohol over zirconium doped nanofiber

The design of high-efficiency heterogeneous catalyst plays a central role for catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of biomass-derived furfural (FAL) into furfuryl alcohol (FOL). Herein, a novel zirconium doped polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber (Zr@PAN) was assembled via electrospinning technology. Systematic characterizations revealed that the high catalytic activity for CTH of FAL into FOL was provided by the cooperative effect between Lewis acid and Lewis base sites due to the chelation effect between zirconium ions and cyano-groups on PAN. Besides, a kinetic model specifying this reaction has been set up and showed a good correlation (R 2  > 0.94) between the measured and predicted data, which can effectively monitor the process and tailor the reaction conditions to attain the desired product. Although the activity of Zr-20@PAN decreased after three cycles of recovery, the introduction of bridging agent, such as lignin and tea polyphenol, can solve the recovery defect well due to their abundant hydroxyl group or carboxyl group.