Controlled targeted conversion of furfural to 1,5-pentanediol or 2-methylfuran over Ni/CoAlOx catalyst

The development of green and low-cost catalysts to catalyze the conversion of biomass and its derivatives into relevant green organic chemicals and fuels is an important way to solve the energy crisis. In this work, a series of Ni/CoAlOx catalysts synthesized through calcination process with hydrotalcite as the precursor were evaluated for the selective production of 2-methylfuran (2-MF) or 1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PeD) from furfural (FFA). The Ni 0.2 /CoAlOx-500 exhibits the optimal activity by adjusting the Ni/(Co + Al) mass ratio and the direct reduction temperature. The mass concentration of FFA greatly influenced the product distribution, FFA preferred to produce 1,5-PeD at low concentration with a maximum selectivity of 42.8 %, and 2-MF at high concentration with a maximum selectivity of 82.6 %. DFT calculations reveal that the different substrate concentrations influence the adsorption pattern over the catalyst, with low substrate concentration tending to flat adsorption and high concentration tending to tilted adsorption. This study not only develops efficient catalysts for biomass conversion, but also reveals the mechanism of FFA directed to 2-MF and 1,5-PeD, which provides useful insights for directed conversion of biomass hydrogenation.