Zn-modulated NiCe catalysts selectively control the hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to dihydroxymethyl furan derivatives

The catalytic conversion of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into high-value-added products, such as 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) and 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran (BHMTHF) has attracted considerable attention. Among this process, controlling the distribution of the catalytic products plays a vital role. In this paper, NiCe and NiZnCe catalysts were prepared by the sol-gel method. By optimizing the metal loading amount and reaction conditions, a selectivity of 95.3 % to BHMTHF with the NiCe catalyst and a selectivity of 94.1 % to BHMF with the NiZn 0.1 Ce catalyst were achieved. Characterization results demonstrated that the addition of Zn causes electrons to transfer from Zn to Ni and increases the content of oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface, inhibiting the adsorption of furan ring on the NiZn 0.1 Ce surface, thus precisely controlling hydrogenation sites at the C O rather than the C C of the furan ring. This study provides guides for precise regulation of product selectivity when designing catalysts, and it is expected to be applied to the catalytic conversion of biomass-derived platform molecules.