Well-dispersed Cu0/Cu+ nanodots confined in hydrotalcite-derived oxide for highly efficient and selective furfural hydrogenation to furfuryl alcohol

Copper catalysts have garnered considerable interest as promising active metals for upgrading biomass resources, especially in selective furfural (FF) hydrogenation reaction. However, effectively enhancing the interactions between active metals and supports while providing abundant surface reaction sites remains enormous challenge to improve catalytic performance. Herein, we present a unique hydrotalcite-derived Cu-based catalyst featuring well-dispersed Cu 0 /Cu + nanodots towards selectively hydrogenated FF to furfuryl alcohol (FA). Impressively, the optimized CuMg 3 Al-R catalyst exhibits the exceptional hydrogenation performance, achieving almost 100 % FF conversion and 99.3 % FA selectivity. Comprehensive studies reveal that the small sized Cu species with well dispersion, the synergistic effect of Cu 0 and Cu + , combined with the selective adsorption and activation of C O groups jointly contribute to the enhanced catalytic performance. This work offers a promising strategy to rationally design well-dispersed Cu species for the selective hydrogenation of C O groups, which holds great significance for biomass-related hydrogenation reaction.